Burn that Baby
by deathbyhugs
Summary: Kira and Athrun were the best of friends, both born into the Mafia. When it splits up into two seperate groups: the PLANTs and Orb, so does their friendship. In a world of violence and crime they cross each other's path as enemies. [COMPLETE]
1. Welcome to the Mafia

Author's note: This is my first Gundam Seed story so please tell me how I'm doing, I'll take creative criticism and any reviews that come my way, if that happens. This story will be different then the ones where they're in space or anything like that. In this story all the character's that I've selected will be in the mofia and the story will follow a well thought out plot line and there might be some similarities between this story and the original Gundam Seed plot line.

Please, please, please review.

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You could barely see in the room with only a small window to give it some light. In one corner there was a chair and it was being occupied. A boy with deep blue hair slumped into the furniture until he had his back was pressed against it. A stray lock of hair covered his face before he tucked it back into his black headband. 

He was dressed in a dark suit, with their family symbol stitched neatly on the cuffs of it. Under that he wore a pale blue shirt. It was nothing fancey, just casual wear. His pants were the same color except a shade or two darker if you looked closey enough, but if you ever go that chance you were as good as dead in these times.

The cigar smoke made his vision hazy in the room that he was in along with his father, a highly respected man within the Mofia. Why? He was the Don, the highest ranking member in their family- the PLANTs.

He hated the taste of the air in here, if there was any left. The red leather chair that he sat in made a funny noise as he stood up, staring the older man down eye to eye. He was his son, yes, but they weren't on the best of terms either.

"Athrun, my son, I have a favour to ask of you."

"Hm?"

The man dressed in a white uniform dug through his polished oak desk and pulled out five pieces of paper, tossing them on the surface. Athrun could see that four out of the five were photographs, but of whom?

"Murrue Ramius, the Capo of Orb. Now my son, you see she is a problem to us, being highly trained," the Don walked closer to Athrun, "I need you to do a piece of work."

Athrun understood perfectly and bobbed his head up and down, keeping silent to show his great respect for his father. He reached for the photos and studied them.

So this was Murrue Ramius huh?

"Where do I go?"

"This contract will be held at the major market area in the West side of town, in Orb territory. You'll know her when you see her."

Athrun left the room just as quietly as he had entered and closed the door behind him. This was just another day, another person to be whacked, and another 'favour' that he to be done for his father.

The empty hallway stretched before him as he made his way over to a different house, the one beside the older building in which he now stood in. That house was his mother's. She was a kind woman, caught up in the life of the Mafia once she married his father. Her words always gave him comfort and she always spoke the truth.

He rasped on the door with his fist and let a smile form on his face. She was the only one that could do that. His mother invited him in and he gladly accepted the invitation.

This house was a lot more cleaner than the one his father owned. He could breathe in here and his lungs welcomed the less suffocating air. Athrun unbottoned the top of his suit and placed it on a coat hanger, greatful that he didn't have to wear that thing while in the presence of his mother.

He knew she didn't approve of what he did, but she never stopped him because she knew he would be all right. But a mother does worry over her child and with the chaos going on during these times she worried more than usual.

Athrun seated himself on a sofa and looked at his mother who sat across from him.

"I'll be going out soon."

A sigh escaped her lips. She would never give an answer to his statements, especially when murder was the topic. Instead she she got up and returned shortly after with a different uniform, red in color with black on the shoulders and cuffs as well as their family symbol stitched onto the collar of the uniform.

"Take this and Athrun..."

"Yes?"

"Please be careful."

He couldn't garentee that, being in such a thing as the Mafia. This was his family and just like anything his mother asked him to do and he obeyed, he would do the same for them as well.

"I will mother."

He left the house to the sound of his mother's soft sobs and closed the door lightly after he bid her farewell and slew out many 'sorries' to go along with it.

With his rifle grasped tightly in his right hand, Athrun walked towards his destinationand set up ontop of a small grocery store roof.

It was a fairly nice day. Not acloud in the sky and the breeze was nothing but a soft whisper in your ear. People crowded around the various stands that held everything from vegetables to jewelery. The noise of their voices was extreme and the chrirping of the birds and the cooing of the pigeons were masked by it.

Using the scope on his gun, Athrun scanned the faces of everyone that he could see. When a door opened just across the street from the grocery store, the blue haired assailant zoomed in on the face of the person and found it to be no other than one Murrue Ramius.

She was dressed in a white shirt with an orange stripe going across the shoulders. A brown coat covered it and matched the dark pants she wore that were equipped several pockets, all of which had been stuffed with one weapon or another.

The clatter of bells rang behind them as they exited the store where they had been closing a deal with another member of their family, Orb. It was a sit-down and Murrue volenteered to attend to it, being the most armed and heavily trained in the art of combat.

Her partner -the Don's son, a very young kid who did multiple things for the Mafia, walked behind Murrue and scanned the crowd of hundred plus people to make sure nothing suspicious was going on or they wouldn't be attacked.

He wore a black shirt with several silver buckles on the side of it and a pair of odd pants that stood out like a sore thumb colored lime green. His brown hair shifted when his head moved from side to side and his purple eyes glowed, even in broad daylight.

From up on the roof Athrun narrowed his eyes and prepared to fire the fully loaded gun. His index finger was raised to the trigger and he slowly lowered it.

Murrue's partner happened to glance up at the sky and quickly spotted a figure on the roof with a gun pointed directly towards the woman he had promised to assist at the sit-down. Before the older woman could do anything, his instincts sparked to life and he through himself infront of her with his arms spread apart to completely cover her.

Athrun's finger pressed upon the trigger, but it wasn't enough to send the bullet flying out of the gun. As soon as the person jumped in the way of his target, his froze. Emerald eyes widened drastically and his hand fell to his side.

It...it couldn't be!

Athrun stood up and looked down, casting a shadow on the ground. His moved quivered and he blinked so many times that his eyes began to hurt.

One single word rolled off his tongue, a familiar name and one that he thought he would never speak of again.

"Kira..."

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**Here are some definitions of the words I used in here:**

The Don- The highest ranking member in the Mafia, also known as Boss. The Don is the person who gives permission to "whack" or "make" someone.

Capo- A member of the family who leads a group of soldiers.

Do a piece of work- To murder or Burn.

Sit-down- A meeting to settle disputes

Contract- A murder assignment

**Please review, I'd like to know what you think of the story so far.**


	2. Whispered Goodbyes

Author's note: Alas, a second chapter! Thanks to all the people that reviewed. I'll once again put the definitions of what some of the words mean at the end of the chapter. Anyways without much more blabbering here is the chapter and please review.

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Kira hadn't the slightest clue who it was that towered over them. He checked Murrue's condition and dashed to the back of the building on the opposite side of the street and scanned the dull cement wall for a ladder. 

Finding it without much of a problem, Kira haulded himself up it step by step. He grasped onto the top of the building and peered over the top. His hand automatically reached for the handgun strapped onto his belt and undid the safety within a matter of seconds.

A leg appeared in his line of sight, causing Kira to slowly raise the gun that was hidden by the cement wall. He didn't even give the other person a chance to move as he pressed down onto the trigger, listening to the sweet sound of the golden colored bullet leaving his gun.

Athrun bit his lip as white hot pain spread its wings inside his leg. The bullet had taken him by surprise and he soon found himself kneeling down on one leg while he watched the other bleed a deep crimson red.

So it looked like Kira had become more skilled over the years. It had been so long since he had last seen his friend and the situation that they were in wasn't one of the best. The guy probably had no clue who he had just shot.

Boy, was he in for a surprise.

Kira placed all his weight on his right hand then pressed on it, flinging himself over the top of the roof. His gun was drawn, pointed directly into the face of Murrue's assailant, but the blue haired person infront of him already had his gun out and was ready to shoot back.

They stood ontop of the roof for some time, guns pointed at each other. It was quite clear that Kira recognized who Athrun was because the youth's eyes widened and his breath hitched in his throat, a look of both surprise, fear, and happiness overwhelmed Kira's facial expression.

When Athrun's friend of the bitter past took a step back his reflexes acted on their own and before he knew it another burst of gunfire filled the air, this time landing Kira a wounded forearm.

He clutched it while taking one more step backwards, making sure that he didn't near too close to the edge of the building and take a fall. A warm, sticky liquid seeped out of his shirt and covered his hand completely, the raw smell of copper filling his nostrils.

Both were bewildered by this encounter and could not find the words to express what they felt. A sickening silence engulfed them, unnerving the two people who had once been close friends.

Murrue's shouting broke the tension and they both looked down. She was waving her arms around like a maniac, calling Kira's name and wondering if he was okay or not.

Athrun averted his gaze and stared blandly at the roof under their feet. He heard a light ruffle of clothes as Kira retreated and went back down the ladder, but not before issuing a soft good-bye that seemed to float in mid air before reaching his ears- nothing more than a whisper.

His abandoned rifle had fallen on its side. Athrun picked it up effortlessly with his right hand and holstered the other, a much smaller hadngun than the one that Kira had used on him. Now there was only one problem left to solve: How was he going to get down that ladder with an injured leg? Especially when it hugged the back of building like a small child would to a stuffed toy bear.

Peering over the edge of the roof, Athrun scanned what lay below. What luck to have a stand set up just a few feet of to the side of the building. There was no doubt that he could jump onto the thick fabric that hung off of two solid looking poles, but he would probably wreck the stand as well. It didn't matter at the moment, he was in enough trouble as it was.

Athrun inhaled deeply before using his feet to pivot him off the roof. People turned and some gasped as the blue haired person landed none too nicely on the cloth that was being used at a stand selling valuables.

Kira and Murrue were only ten feet away when they heard some commotion and spun around to see what it was all about. The only thing their eyes got a glimpse of was a running figure dressed in red, a gun clutched tightly to his side.

_Athrun...

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_

His father was in a fowl mood, he could tell because his brow was furrowed and his eyes were narrowed so much that they were only tiny slits upon his aging face. He paced back and forth behind his desk and was deciding the fate of his son.

How could his own son fail to do as he was asked?

Athrun sat in the same chair as he had been in before and had his back arched straight. He couldn't possibly relax now, not while his father was so angered with him that he was refusing to speak. That spoke louder than words ever could.

Patrick Zala, Don of the PLANTs Mafia, raised a fist to his mouth and coughed to gather his son's attention. He turned to face forward and was quite pissed off by the news only received no less than twenty minutes ago.

"Tell me, my son, what is it that went wrong?"

Athrun had forgotten to mention the part about being shot, knowing all too well what Kira's fate would be if word got into the wrong hands.

"There was some interfirence."

It was then that his father noticed the bandage wrapped around his son's leg. He hadn't gave it much thought and really didn't care, but this was becoming interesting.

"What kind of interfirence?"

"It's not really all that important. There was-"

"Was it Orb scum that shot you?"

Athrun was taken aback by this. When he glanced to the side the Don got the answer he wanted, even if it had been silent.

"You are dismissed."

"Father I-"

"Dismissed."

When Athrun had left the room, his father opened a drawer on his desk. He pulled out some more photographs and flipped through the stack until he came upon one picture in particular. It was aged and one of the corners had been torn.

Athrun and a innocent looking child his age were standing under a sakura tree. The photgraph had been shot while the wind had picked up, blocking half of the face of the other person present in the picture. The Don knew his son had a friend back then, but never cared until now when his own flesh and blood had been shot by some Orb scum! How dare he!

He picked up black polished phone and dialed a number. When the other line responded, an evil smirk graced his lips.

"Le Crueset? We have a problem on our hands..."

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Kira staggered into his home, refusing the help of Murrue. As soon as he had swung the door open a blur of red, green, and blonde colored hair greeted him, instantly placing an arm around his shoulder to help support him. 

"What the hell happened to you?"

"I'm fine, really."

The brown haired boy was lead into another room that was filled with multiple plush furniture. Sitting among them was the Don of Orb, Lord Uzumi. He looked up at his two children and motioned for them to sit down.

"Kira, are you alright?"

"Yes."

Murrue leaned up against the wall and crossed her arms, looking at Kira with gratitude gleaming in her eyes.

"Lord Uzumi, your son blocked a hit on me, it would be wise to make sure he's okay."

"Thank you."

The Capo of Orb bowed lightly before exiting the house and returning to her own. She left the three family members to themselves in the solitude of their home.

"Father?"

"Yes Cagalli?"

"Do you think it had something to do with the PLANTs?"

"We cannot assume that right away. This matter will have to be looked into."

Cagalli went and grabbed some medical supplies, returning back to quickly clean the blood off her brother's hands and cleanse the bullet wound. It was nothing serious so the bullet would stay inside. She bandaged it up with a soft white cloth and some disinfectant and left Kira alone after he was completely attended to.

Kira retired to the privacy of his room after talking about the whole situation with his father. He had been told that Athrun would most likely be sought out and if matters got into the wrong hands- possibly killed.

Things weren't supposed to be this way. He hated every part of it and wished that the Mafia hadn't broken up due to some silly differences. But it had escalated into something more violent and he couldn't blame his father for wanting to break away from it.

He eyes slowly closed while his head rested upon his pillow. His body finally gave into slep and Kira found himself dreaming dreams of his childhood he had shared with his best friend, Athrun.

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**Definitions:**

Problem- someone who will likely be killed or whacked. Someone who is going to be killed or whacked.

Capo- ranking member of a Family who heads a crew of soldiers.


	3. Childhood bliss

Author's note: A big thanks to all the people that reviewed this story, I'm loving the response! This chapter is dedicated to all those who have reviewed and to all those who have read. Once again please review at the end, it's awesome to read what you think ;)

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It was a time of peace. Rid of both violence and crime, some at least, for the time being. You couldn't speak about the Mafia knowing that the single word _crime_ would be etched into the name itself, like a secret message that almost everyone understood. 

The Mafia had once been whole. They were all one big family, one big group of outcasts or highly intelligent men and woman, always looking out for each other and they had never, ever fought. But all that changed when sudden arguments turned into violent combats and bickering amongst the group appeared like a pest with a bite so strong you felt like you would die.

Fight after fight and no agreement could be seen in the sights of all those involved. Their fights always included open gunfire and usually ended up on the streets. Several people watching had been killed, striken down by the deadly bullets that littered the place like flies.

Eventually the citizens of the city had enough of their ongoing arguments and tried to put an end to the useless fighting, but it was in vain. The fighting continued, the death toll rose, and the Mafia was still a long way from every getting back together.

Before everything that happened Lord Uzumi, the Don, was the ruler above them all. Kindness dripped from his words and he held a great understanding for all of those he met. Being wise came with a price, especially in the Mafia where some would praise you and others would love nothing better than to see you get whacked.

His leadership had been strong, but not strong enough to keep some of the Mafia in restraints. Uzumi had called several meetings about what would happen in the near future, but before anything could be settled more than a few off the record acts had been taken.

Innocent people were shot, others robbed. The police were on Uzumi's tail, blaming him for all the crimes that had occured without asking any questions. The Don only responded with silence at that point, not wanting to rat any of them out.

Patrick Zala was the one that started it all.

His constant arguing and fighting against the Don earned him a lot of hatred from everyone else, but also gained the trust of many others. His words full of hate and lies swept among many like a wave of black smoke. They eventually got him chased out of the Mafia, but some followed or were forced to, thus creating the PLANTs.

It was a week before Patrick was chased away when Kira's birthday came around yet again. There had been a big celebration and he quite enjoyed himself, especially being around his best friend at the time and surrounded with a loving family, even the other Mafia members had shown up.

Athrun and Kira had only been kids at that time, both ten years of age. Their friendship was so strong that they were almost impossible to seperate. When the mafia broke apart, their lives seemed to as well.

The day they seperated had to be peaceful, causing the two friends to wish that this day would last forever and they wouldn't have to seperate.

In the garden that Lord Uzumi's house protected, they stood under a row of tall sakura trees with the wind gently brushing on them like a blanket. Blossums fell just like snow would onto the two figures standing under their limbs.

Athrun was dressed in a new suit that his father had bought him, colored green with a matching hat to go with it. Facing him with tear stained cheeks, Kira wore casual wear, refusing to dress formal around his friend who's father was so strict that it hurt to listen to him at times.

Silence echoed throughout the place and throughout their minds. Neither of them wanted to whisper those dreaded words, their final good-byes. While Athrun tried to plaster a fake smile on his face, Kira wore one of ultimate despair and depression.

The wind caused Athrun's hair to sway in the wind. He had to do this if Kira wasn't able to. He asked his friend to come and see him someday and told him that he would always wait for Kira, knowing fully that his father would want to see the brown haired boy killed, but couldn't help but offer some reassurance. Then just as he was about to say good bye for the last and final time, he moved his arms that had been behind him so that they were facing Kira and pulled out a gift.

It was a cage. Golden bars made the outline of it. A small black perch was placed near the middle and ontop of that was a small little bird. It's green feathers rustled as it cocked it's head from side to side, chirpping out the sweet sound of what was known as the word 'birdee'.

Kira's purple eyes stared at the delicate creature with a silent fascination flickering deep inside. He extended his had and accepted the gift while shaking at the same time. Grasping the cage to his chest, he stared at his friend and was about to issue his good-byes when a rough voice interrupted them.

Patrick Zala stormed towards the two young friends, anger evident in his voice. He flashed Kira a disgusted look and grabbed Athrun by the arm none to gently. With that he spun on his heel and walked off.

Kira ran after them, his free arm reaching towards them as his small legs carried him closer. Athrun had his arm out too, bitter sadness surfacing with each step he was forced to take by his father. He was thrown into a red car just as Kira neared.

The brown haired, purple eyed boy ran after the car, the word _wait_ formed on his lips. Kira stopped running when the car sped off, leaving a cloud of dust behind, the only remainder of his best friend ever being there.

His memories began to fade just like the cloud of dust had that day as Kira grew older. The Mafia hadn't changed one bit, infact it had only gotten worse as each year passed, just as slow as the one before.

Kira hadn't seen or made contact with Athrun since that day. You couldn't say that he hadn't tried because the truth was he had numerous times, failing miserably each and every time. He had even been sworn death if he called their house one more time. A hit was placed upon Kira not too long after, but he had taken care of the assailant by himself.

Although he had lost most of his memories of Athrun, Kira never forgot who he was. More than often he would come home (on the nights that he actually did) and throw himself into his pillow with tears threatening to spill over whenever he remembered _him._

Every day he would wonder and wonder the one thing that troubled him the most. His mind would replay that question over and over again like a broken record. It bothered him to no end and he promissed both himself and Athrun, even though he hadn't actually told him, that he would find the answer to that question someday.

_Why didn't you wait for me?_

_

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_

**Definitions**

Chased- To be banished from the Mafia.

Off the record- An action taken without the knowledge of the Family.

**Please Review**


	4. Just another day in the Mafia

Author's Note: Just a quick little note this time. A super big thanks for the super reviews. I posted a new Gundam Seed story called "Still Life", go check it out and tell me what you think. As always, here's your next chapter presented to you by yours truely.

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He was surrounded. 

Hands bound behind his back as tightly as they could, Yzak sat propped up against a cold stone wall. He didn't have the slightest clue as to where he was, but it had to be in a factory of some sort. It was easy to tell because this place had a musty smell and crates littered the entire area, not to mention this place was huge.

Yzak shivered when the bare flesh of his neck touched the cold wall. Goose flesh appeared on his arms, making a weird tingling sensation. The look of anger never vanished from his face as he blew a stray strand of sliver hair out of his face.

If only he had some sort of distraction.

There was no telling how long he had been in this uncomfortable position. It could've been days for all he knew. The only thing he remembered was waking up with the rough rope biting into the soft skin on his wrists.

While doing a favor for the Don, which was killing someone who had gone behind their back, Yzak had been confronted with some unwelcome visitors as he scouted out the area. A gun fight ensued and all except two of the enemy had been shot down. He took a bullet to the arm, but it hadn't bothered him, he just wanted to hurry up and get the job finished and done with.

Of course where there was five members of Orb, there were another five to back them up.

It was an unfair fight, resulting with Yzak being knocked out when someone had come up from behind him and stuck his skull with a blunt object. His world had spun around and around until everything went black.

His eyes darted to the harshly loud voice of another person coming their way. It grabbed the attention of all the gun holders and they turned around, their backs facing Yzak who was now unattended.

Bad move.

With the most silent movements he could muster, Yzak stretched his fingers up into his sleeve until he touched a sharp object that had been hidden inside. With a light pull the fabric holding the thing in place came undone and the object fell into Yzak's hands without making any noise.

Concentrated on something else besides their captive, the guards continued to chat it up with the person who had appeared only moments ago.

The knife which Yzak kept in his sleeve for such occasions created a muffled noise as it moved up and down on the rope, thinning it out with each attempt Yzak made with the knife to free himself. Never dropping the thin piece of metal, the silver haired member of the PLANTs continued to slash at the ropes, holding onto the knife with both his hands to apply more pressure to make the progress faster.

Yzak was greeted with the welcoming feeling of the ropes loosening as they fell to the ground soundlessly. He slowly stood up, knowing fully that the guards would see his movements from the corner of their eyes and attack. Thankfully he had come prepared, as always.

The polished gun glimmered in the dull light, creating an outline of what it really was. This gun had been specially made just for him by one of the best gun constructors in all of the PLANTs, which happened to be no other than his rival, Athrun.

Black leather was used as the grip with finger indents made to perfectly match his own. The gun itself was a sleek black shade, though it faded into a brilliant silver near the beginning of the barrel. It was a Glock 32 with a magazine capacity that could hold up to fifteen bullets. Being small in size, Yzak could easily hide it inthe leg of his pants where it had been undetectable by his captors.

Just as he had predicted, the guards whirled around with their guns drawn. Yzak made sure that his gun was well hidden and stood completely still as four of them approached. He accurate eyes spotted their fingers resting on the triggers of their guns as they slowly applied pressure to them.

It was then that Yzak decided to take action.

Doing a back flip and successfully dodging the bullets that flew his way, Yzak landed firmly on the cement floor and returned fire, catching one of the men in the neck. He sprinted to the side and rolled behind a crate as several bullets peppered it.

Seconds passed, but only a few before Yzak planted his feet on the ground and jumped onto the other side of the crate, felling two more guards, leaving two left and the other person who had entered the factory before everything happened.

Grabbing onto the knife that granted him his freedom, Yzak threw it towards one of the guards, successfully striking him in the arm. When the supposed member of Orb clutched his arm, Yzak ran to him and grabbed his AK-47 and ripped it out of his hands. He acted upon the shock the guard had and placed a roundhouse punch directly into his face and used the gun to strike at the man's legs, tripping him.

Yzak tossed the gun behind him and ran at the other guard just as his next victim opened fire again. The bullets stopped coming out of the gun when Yzak appeared before the guard and ran past him, but not without any injury.

The guard felt a sick twisting feeling in his neck as Yzak held on tightly to his head. There was a loud _crack_ and the man fell lifelessly to the cold ground with a broken neck.

Unarmed, the last remaining person ran for the gun that Yzak had tossed. Once he reached it he looked frantically around, eyes wide and full of fear. Yzak was nowhere to be found and the only noise he could hear was his own heart beating rapidly and the wet choking noises the fallen guard on the ground before him made as the blood from his broken nose pooled into his throat.

The man looked to left just as Yzak's foot connected with the gun, forcefully knocking it out of his shaky hands. Yzak then brought his elbow up and struck the man in the side of his face. He reached for the fallen guard and pulled on his knife and planted it into the side of the other man's neck.

With no threat in sight, Yzak proceeded to walk to the exit. He neared the double ruby red doors when heard the guard with the broken nose standing up. Yzak didn't even turn around. He stretched his arm out from behind him and pulled the trigger on his customized gun, hitting his target between the eyes.

All the commotion must've brought someone to call the cops because as soon as Yzak rounded a corner and was around half a block away from the factory, several police cars surrounded the old building, lights flashing and sirens blaring.

He didn't pay them any heed as they rushed towards the factory and called for an ambulance. By then Yzak was making his way towards the PLANTs territory, eyes darting from side to side, looking for anything suspicious coming his way when at last he reached their neighborhood.

As soon as he had opened the front door, Yzak tugged his shoes off and tossed them to the side and darted to the living room where he sat lazily down on a black leather couch. Of course Yzak wasn't aloud such a luxury as relaxing and was interrupted by the phone just as he began to get comfortable. The sharp, annoying ring forced him to stand back up and he slowly made his way towards the contraption.

"Hello?" Yzak half spoke half yawned, much unlike himself, but he wasn't on the job and could do whatever the hell he wanted. "Who's this?"

A familiar voice replied, clam and full of mystery and forbidding lies. Yzak knew this man wanted him to do something and could care less what it was. "Crueset? Listen, whatever it is, it can wait." He lowered the phone from his ear and was about to turn it off when the man spoke again.

"The Don, clever Patrick Zala, wants a favor done, but the problem is..," he paused to give it some effect on the arrogant young mobster, "Is that I cannot obey his command. That, Yzak, is why I need you to carry out the hit for me."

Never trusting the blond man, even though he had been his leader before he completely joined the Mafia, Yzak had no choice but to give a final answer of 'yes'. After all this was the Don and he never got the opportunity to do a favor for the Don, it had always been Athrun.

When he found out from Crueset just exactly who it was that he had to kill, Yzak couldn't believe it. That person was the very same one that had given him an awful scar across his face, bringing him nothing but shame and anger.

While on a order to carry out another 'favor', which was to kill someone who was acquainted with Athrun from his childhood, Yzak had been attacked by no other than the person he was supposed to kill.

It had been a pretty fair fight. Yzak was heavily armed but his opponent had suddenly taken a knife out of his belt and stuck him in the side of his stomach. It wasn't anything serious but it had caught him off guard and as soon as that happened the person charged forward and had sliced the knife across his face. It must've caused the person to believe that he was dead because his opponent had taken off, leaving him to lay in a pool of his own blood, choking on the blood coming from his wound from time to time.

Yzak hung up and sluggishly made his way towards the couch. His day couldn't get any worse. Sure, he was about to get revenge for what had happened, but that would mean more work, more covering his trail, and more hours away from sleeping.

Oh well, this was just another day in the Mafia...

* * *

**Definitions:**

Enforcer- A member of the Mafia that will threaten, maim, or kill someone who doesn't cooperate with the Family.


	5. Shoot to kill

Author's Note: Once again, thanks for all the awesome reviews! This story is on a roll and the ideas are flowing into my mind like a freakin' river. I'd like to dedicate this chapter to everyone that happens to read this. Have fun!

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_Did you ever stop and think about the future? Could you ever picture it being like this, so full of pain and suffering? Why Athrun, why did your father have to take you away? Why couldn't we all be seen as equals? Are you going to fight against me now because that's your father's will?_

_Why Athrun...why..._

Kira continued to mope around in his bedroom, refusing to lift his head from his pillow. How many nights had been spent like this? There had been more than a few. It was like a tradition in a sick sort of way. But he couldn't pass on, couldn't think of Athrun as his enemy. How could anyone want to kill their best friend because of some silly difference that they supposively had between one another?

At last he gave into his lungs demands for fresh air to breath and rolled over to stare blandly up at the roof of his bedroom. It was just as blank as his stare was, just as blank as he felt, nothing but a lost soul.

Quick footfalls shattered the silence that ripped at his mind and Kira was positive that it was Cagalli, who else could it be? Not wanting to speak to anyone at that moment, Kira reached for his brown leather coat and put it on. Placing his fingers under the window, the purple eyed mobster pulled up and jumped out of the window before Cagalli barged through the door.

The bitter wind felt cold even inside the coat, offering Kira no form of comfort whatsoever. He didn't seem to care, his mind elsewhere, far away from reality. He worried the others with his strange behavior, but everyone had grown acustomed to it over the years. It wasn't uncommon to see the outcast with brown hair walking like a zombie down the streets.

A harsh breeze almost toppled him to the ground. Once his balance had been restored, Kira walked on and would've bumped into a wall had he not cast his eyes upward in the nick of time. But it had startled him and his drained body caused him to fall to his knees.

Mud soaked and stained his knees, rocks bit into his weakened skin, and the cement smashed his brittle bones. Pain should've consumed him by now, but it hadn't and he felt like nothing but a shell, no pain rippling through his body but numbness.

_How could anyone go on living like this?_

Realizing that he wasn't being strong enough and that one day he would be able to speak to Athrun on normal terms, Kira stood back up and continued to walk down the empty street, grasping onto that one thought and using it like a lifeline, a very, very, thin life line.

* * *

A light hung off the roof and was lowered just above the table. Two large windows stood about five feet away from the floor and were shatter proof. In the far left hand corner a chair, old and worn, stood. 

In that chair was a man. Hands and feet bound, he glared at the man slumped up against the wall at the far end of the room, a smug look plastered on his face. The captive couldn't move, nor tried and it was because of that man staring at him.

They called him the Hawk of Endymion, a man who had single handedly shot down over nine PLANTs members durring a raid. His reputation amoung those in the PLANTs was bad and many would like nothing better than to see him killed. Those in Orb treasured his fighting abilties and named him the enforcer, a nasty thing to do, but it was worth the respect he recieved.

Fearing for his life, but still keeping the anger burning deeply in his eyes, the captive man kept silent until he was asked to speak. This guy was dangerous and just being around him could make you nervous.

"So tell me," Mwu said as he walked closer and closer to the table, watching with amusement as the man began to fidget, "are you with the PLANTs?"

"Like hell I'd tell you anything!" The man spat back, quickly realizing his big mistake.

Mwu placed a hand on the table and leaned forward. A grin formed on his lips and he slowly raised a hand backwards. The man thought that he was going to be hit and started to thrust back and forth in the chair. He was silenced when Mwu pulled out a dagger and placed it on the table.

The dangerous weapon glistened under the light and the man's eyes widened when he saw how sharp it was. Pretty soon he began to slur out appologies and whimpers that could be compared to those of a one month old infant.

"Please don't kill me!" Mwu turned the knife with a light push of his finger so that it pointed at the man. "Okay, okay, I admit it! I am with the PLANTs."

It was quite funny how easily people would give in under a threat to their life. Mwu used this technique all the time and sometimes used tortue, it worked wonders, really.

Always tell the truth, right?

Not even getting a chance to drag out their little 'chat session', Mwu was interrupted by a knock on the door. He left the captive alone and opened it slowly and was surprised to see Cagalli, the Don's daughter, standing right there infront of him.

Before he could utter a single word, Cagalli held up her hand to silence him and hurried to present him with the problem at hand, that being her brother.

"I need you to go find him," she stated and hardened her gaze to show the older man that she was dead serious.

"Right."

Cagalli took over his occupation as he hurried after Kira.

Once Mwu was outside and hot on the trail of the runaway boy, he saw him just after ten minutes. He used all his running speed to catch up with him and laughed when he caught Kira off guard by giving him a light slap on the back.

"M-Mwu? What are you doing here?"

"Cagalli's orders."

A ear-splitting silence fell upon them as they walked along. Kira couldn't find a topic to talk about and Mwu was too concerned with being on an empty street where they could very well be attacked. He was always alert.

From up on a building, Yzak readied his rife. This was the perfect spot to carry out the hit and it was a bonus to have one of the most hated members of Orb with him. What luck.

As he loaded a bullet into the weapon, Yzak peered over the edge to make sure that they hadn't walked too far away or turned down any streets. That wasn't a problem but Mwu had his gun drawn and was looking this way and that and would most likely spot him if he wasn't careful.

When they were walking side by side, Yzak zoomed in on their heads and raised his finger to the trigger. There was nothing stopping him now, but the damn phone attached to his belt that had just gone off.

Mwu reacted when he heard the noise but Yzak had already pulled the trigger. He watched as a bullet flew by their heads and hit the building behind them, shattering the glass storefront.

Yzak cursed his luck and answered the phone, furious that somebody had just ruined his revenge. However, his anger subsided once he heard the voice on the other end and almost felt ashamed for just about yelling at the man, who was no other than the Don himself.

He watched as Mwu and Kira backtracked and headed deeper into Orb territory while the Don gave him instructions to follow the purple eyed mobster. He hung up the phone and glared at the two retreating figures.

Soon, very soon, he would get his revenge. Picking up the phone, Yzak called his comrades. Tonight was the night that the troublemaker would die a miserable death.


	6. A violent 'sleep over'

Author's note: Could it be? Aother update for this week? Yes, it is! Okay, but you must understand that there will be no update until next tuseday. Why? I failed terribly on my math test and so ya.. if I keep it up I'll fail grade 10 soI should be studying, but between you and me... I'll go on at like three in the morning just so I can type out another chapter and secretly update it. Muha. So we're getting deeper into the story line, fun stuff. I've decided that from time to time I will follow the Gundam Seed plot line, but it will mostly follow a plot line that I, myself, have thought up. You may notice some similarities so if you do, point them out. 'Till next time...

* * *

Yzak, along with three other member of the PLANTs, stood on top of a small hill just outside of a house that could be compared to a mansion. With their night vision goggles on, the group of four started to descend from their spot and head over to the massive building. 

The night air was warm for this time of year and they welcomed it with open arms. It would be easier to escape after fulfilling their mission and their bodies wouldn't be so worn if the weather was cold and the complete opposite of what it was right now.

As his blue hair, almost invisible in the surrounding darkness, brushed over his face, Athrun looked at the house with wonder evident in his eyes. That place looked so familiar to him, yet he couldn't place his finger on why exactly it was that he recognized this place. Could it be some distant childhood memory?

But that was nothing but nonsense. He had never visited this place before and he sure as hell would've know if he was in the presence of the enemy. Yet as his eyes scanned over the building and to the garden that seemed to glow in the back, Athrun was in no doubt for sure that he had visited this place before.

Withdrawing from his thoughts, Athrun was bombarded with a blaring flash in his mind of Kira, small and childish. Not wanting to know why that happened, Athrun followed Yzak and the others, determined to be rid of this 'pest' of which Yzak held such hatred for.

He had no idea who really resided there. He couldn't remember a thing and as he neared the mansion like building, Athrun got the feeling that this wasn't such a good idea after all.

* * *

Sleeping soundly for once in over six years, Kira lay upon his bed, his shallow breathing the only thing you could make out in the room. Suddenly his eyebrows furrowed and he scrunched his face up. A terrified, yet angered expression formed and he began to thrash about on his bed. 

It was another one of those damn dreams.

_Athrun?_

_His blue haired friend had his back to him, ignoring Kira's protests for him not to do that. The air around them wasn't warm like it usually was, instead it was frigid and white clouds of breath could be seen from Kira's view as Athrun's ragged breathing started to scare him._

"_Athrun, what's wrong?"_

_Turning around violently, Athrun faced his friend. _

_There was blood smeared on his chest. His clothing was torn and seemed out of place. His usual slick blue hair was nothing more than a mess and stained with the same crimson substance that was on his chest. His eyes held such anger and it was directed towards Kira._

"_Why Kira? Why did you have to kill me?"_

"_K-k-kill you?"_

_There had been a hand covering his heart and Athrun removed it to show his former friend a nasty looking bullet wound, which was, of course, directly above his heart where it had entered the vital organ and stopped it's beating._

"_This is all your fault!"_

_Athrun lunged forward and landed roughly on Kira. The brown haired boy tried to push him off and was met with blood dripping on his face. Kira raised a shaky hand and placed it on Athrun's chest, only to find no heartbeat at all._

"_Why did you kill me?"_

Kira sprung upright as the words echoed inside of his head before he shook it as hard as he could to make those words stop repeating themselves. When he finally found some peace, Kira stood up just as a light tapping noise came from his window.

Instinctively, Kira went for his gun and leaned on the wall beside the window as soon as he retrieved it. What was only a suspicion escalated into complete knowing as a crow bar sprouted from the soft wood surrounding the lock he had on the window.

The brown haired mobster darted as quickly and as quietly as he could to the other side of the room and crouched behind his bed. It didn't take long for the window to be pried open and soon four sets of feet could be seen from Kira's position.

"Where is he?" One of them said in a harsh voice.

"Eh, beats me," one of the other people spoke, but with a joking tone.

"We should try to keep it quiet and if he's not here, come back in a couple of hours," the next voice, calmer and sounding a lot more quiet than the others, caused some arguing between him and the loud one before a new voice broke in, one that Kira recognized within seconds.

"Enough of that, Yzak. We need to finish the job and get out of here."

Kira watched as the four intruders, one of who was his former friend, scout out his room. They checked the closet, the clothes drawer, and in every dark corner, except for under his bed.

Athrun pointed his gun straight and looked for any clues as to where their victim would be hiding. As he neared a wall filled with photographs, he slowly lowered his gun and gaped at them. It was then that Athrun found out who it was that they were trying to kill.

But it couldn't be!

Just as quickly as the bad situation that he was in crashed itself upon his shoulders, Athrun heard a quiet whisper come from behind the bed in front of him.

_Kira..._

Kira watched as a pair of feet came closer and closer and prepared to lodge a bullet into who's ever head it was. His thoughts remained solely on one person and he decided not to shoot, but to wait and see who it was, then meet his fate... what ever that was.

_Athrun..._

The blue haired member of the PLANTs prepared to face his friend when he saw a form already rising. Athrun looked on as Kira slowly stood up, with Yzak's gun jammed roughly into his back. He wanted to help his friend but then so much commotion would be caused because of it.

"Gotcha! So which do you prefer, a bullet to the back or a bullet to the heart?"

Kira refused to answer and looked at Athrun, studying his face, just like he used to when they were younger. That caused his friend to be washed over with massive waves of guilt as Yzak's finger slowly rested itself on the trigger of his gun and slowly applied pressure to it.

"Kira!"

Without thinking, Athrun tackled Yzak from the side and watched as a bullet landed into the wall and not the flesh of Kira's back. He was then met with a furious Yzak and was about to be hit in the face with a balled up fist had Kira not grabbed his arm and thrown it to the side.

Kira offered Athrun his hand and even though he was weary to accept an Orb member's help, he did it anyways and was standing before Dearka or Nicol could see what happened or act upon what they saw.

Just as Yzak stood a door being slammed open filled the silent void that had grew tremendously. Everyone froze as both Cagalli and her father's voice came from down the hallway. Yzak looked towards Dearka and nodded. The blond with the wacky hair got the hint and went after the two other people with his gun drawn and ready to shoot at any given time.

Kira turned to run but Yzak's gun was pointed directly into his face. He had no other choice but to allow it as the person standing before him grabbed his own weapon from his hands and chucked it across the room.

"Die already!"

With super fast reflexes, Kira knocked Yzak's gun out of his hands and dashed into the hallway, determined to stop the PLANTs member from hurting any of his family members. He was in luck that he hadn't come upon Cagalli or his father and waited for the other guy's back to be facing him.

That could come at no better time than now. Kira lunged at Dearka and threw his gun away. He was met with a fist to the face but ignored it. They rolled back and forth on the floor until Kira smashed Dearka into a table with a burning candle on it.

The impact knocked the candle off and it already started to burn the dry rug on the floor as Kira pushed Dearka away and watched as the PLANTs member ran back to his room.

* * *

Athrun blocked the door and prevented Yzak from going after Kira. It was a hard thing to accomplish but he couldn't allow it to happen and right now it didn't matter what his father thought, after all the only reason why Kira was considered an enemy was because of his father. 

"Get out of my way!"

"No."

Nicol looked at Athrun as he stood his ground, "Athrun.."

"I-I can't."

"Move!"

Yzak pried Athrun's fingers off of the door frame and stepped out into the hallway. A fallen Dearka only a foot from the door was what greeted him. The scarred member of the PLANTs rushed to his friend's aid just as a flaming roof beam collapsed behind him.

The room wasn't blocked off but nobody came out from inside. Yzak decided to hurry up and get out, dragging Dearka behind him. He checked to see where Kira was and saw that another roof beam had collapsed and thought that it landed on him.

Kira tried to get past the flaming mess, but it was impossible. As another piece of the house came crashing down, Kira had no choice but to retreat and hope that Cagalli and his father made it out alive and all in one piece.

Part of the wall crumbled beside Kira and he jumped through just as the house started to fall into a heap of cement and burnt wood. Voices could be heard from his left and Kira watched Athrun leave with the other three members of the PLANTs. Cagalli's unmistakable shouting came from the back of the house and Kira was so relieved that he fell down in the dew covered grass.

Up on the hill where they had been standing before the whole mess happened, Athrun watched as the last of the house burnt down and never saw Kira escape. He felt all the sorrow in the world hit him in the chest as he wished that Kira had never died.

Although Kira hadn't died and was now reuniting with his family, the three people standing near Athrun thought so and began to walk away. The blue haired mobster stood silently for a few moments watching the house and then turned his back as the sakura trees of which he and Kira had once issued their last good-byes began to burn and lit up the sky with a beautiful pink glow.


	7. If we could go back Pt I

Author's note: I am back, muha. Anyways this little bit of my story will be split into two or three parts all about the change of view they all go through... blah blah blah. Once again thanks for the awesome reviews, I seriously mean it when I say they're awesome because they are, each and every one of them.

* * *

The day was dying and the sun was setting. A sense of calmness drifted over all those who accepted it and it brought upon such a silence, one that nobody had experienced before. All was well in the city where the Mafia ruled over all and played such a huge role in everyone's lives. That is, except for one man in particular.

Only two days had passed after the mansion incident and Athrun Zala, son of the great Don of the PLANTs, was still feeling the pain. It wasn't physical pain, but it was both emotional pain and mental pain, all from the loss of a friend he had once spoke so casually to, but was now nothing more than an enemy.

He hadn't slept for forty-eight hours and was now feeling the side effects. A massive headache accompanied by the want for sleep drove him crazy as he fought both of them, refusing to let himself slip into the world of dreams, fearing that they would turn into nightmares and the bitter truth.

Athrun looked like a disaster and nobody dared to question him while he locked himself in his room. His hair was a mess of blue and he hadn't changed his clothes since that night, the one he despised with all his heart and wished had never happened.

Yet again he was denying the truth. How many times had he done this within these two excruciating long days? It had been more than enough to drive Athrun over the edge, but he couldn't help it. There was no way that Kira could be dead even though he saw that house burn down and didn't even see a single sign that his former friend had made it out alive.

While wrapped up in such sorrowful thoughts, Athrun failed to notice his bedroom door being opened. He kept his head low, almost to the bed sheets scrunched up underneath his rump, and even as he heard hard foot falls on his wooden floor, he refused to look at whoever it was.

Patrick Zala stood over his son's slouched form and narrowed his eyes, shooting invisible icicles at the weeping boy's body. He noted how awful and messy he looked and placed a strong hand on his shoulder. This brought forth no reaction from Athrun, causing the Don's terrible temper to rise tremendously.

"Weakling."

His bitter words bit Athrun a million times harder than they were supposed to. Athrun cringed when they sunk in and fell to the floor roughly when the Don used his hand that rested on his son's shoulder to send him flying.

"What does this have to do with the incident that happened two days ago? I'll tell you what, absolutely nothing!"

"Father I-"

"You are a disgrace showing such weakness. Quit arguing with me and get dressed into something more proper. I want you to be present when Crueset comes by and don't even dream of showing yourself with such a look stupidity on your face. Understood?"

Athrun looked at the floor instead of answering his father's questions and was rewarded with another push, this one not being so hard and cruel.

"_Understood?_"

The Don knew Athrun would do nothing but protest and left the room as quickly as possible in a fit of rage. He slammed Athrun's door with so much force that it almost ripped the poor thing off of its hinges.

Athrun didn't even budge as he stared blandly at the floor. He knew that if he didn't attend that meeting that he would probably be run out of the Mafia or punished severely.

"Kira..."

Slowly, his head turned to face the door and it brought forth memories that he had purposely tried to forget. How they resurfaced was beyond him, but when images began to flash inside of his mind he wished that they hadn't come back.

_Athrun pressed the palms of his hands up against the window of his father's red car as they sped away from Kira's house. He helplessly watched as his friend ran after them, his new birdcage with the tiny green bird inside of it tucked securely under his arm while he reached for the car with his free one. _

_His father had yelled at him and told him to sit down, but he refused to. In turn the would be Don of the PLANTs stepped on the gas and forced the car to depart faster from the crying boy behind them. It was the last thing Athrun saw before the car rounded a corner and his friend was lost to him forever._

_That night when he eventually returned home, Athrun went straight to his room and stared at the ceiling for who knew how long. He felt paralyzed as he lay on top of his bed, numb from the pain that was slowly setting in._

_A sob escaped from his mouth, followed by many others. Tear after tear spilled from his emerald eyes and stained his pillow permanently, even thought they were invisible they remained there as a painful reminder. At least it forced Athrun to move._

_The first thing he had done that night besides wallow in a hole of sadness was search for a phone. When he had found one laying around, the ten year old took it back to his room and dialed Kira's number._

"_Hello?" A man with a wise voice, Kira's dad, answered._

"_Is Kira-"_

_The door slammed open, revealing a very angry Patrick Zala. He ripped the phone out of his small hands and smashed it onto the floor, shattering it into a hundred tiny little pieces. _

_Athrun watched as each part of the phone hit the floor and closed his eyes as loud noises filled his ears when the only link to Kira was ripped from him. It was like getting your heart ripped out._

"_Father, why?"_

"_You are not aloud to see that boy anymore, Athrun. He is nothing but scum under your feet."_

"_No father."_

_His son's disagreement shocked Patrick. He became angered rather quickly but left the room before it could escalate into anything worse. That left Athrun all to himself as he stared at the door, wishing that Kira could be there with him._

_Of course, that would never happen._

_Athrun walked across the room and gently picked up a photograph of Kira and himself playing a game of basketball. It was a happy picture and Athrun wanted nothing more than to go back in time and relive that event and cherish it more than he already had._

_Athrun felt one last tear slip off his face. It splashed onto the picture and created a wet mark. He cleaned it off with his sleeve and lay down, into his bed._

_Silently and soundlessly, Athrun rolled over and carefully placed the picture under his feathered pillow, hoping for better times._

He never removed it. Not even once.

Athrun shook his head lightly and raised himself off of the floor. He looked at himself in a mirror positioned in the far left corner near his closet and checked himself over. He really was awful.

His father's voice came from down the hall, shouting his name. Athrun removed himself from in front of the mirror and sat back down on his bed. He buried his face deep into his pillow and wanted to stay like this, but lifted his head when the Don's footsteps came closer and closer to his room.

The blue haired mobster reached under his pillow and grabbed for the picture of them playing basketball. When his fingers wrapped around the edges, Athrun withdrew it and walked over to an old looking bulletin board. He quickly tacked it up and left the room in a hurry, not even remembering that his father wanted him to look presentable.

For once in over six years the picture was out from under Athrun's pillow and now hung where it had when things had been peaceful.


	8. If we could go back Pt II

Author's note: This is something that can only be explained as 'unbelievable' and that thing is the amount of reviews and the interest so many people shown towards this story, and for that I say thanks, even though I probably have over a million times by now. After I finish writing the two or three part piece of this story, I will gradually move onto some more action, unless you like it this way. If that's the case than just let me know.

* * *

All his memories had gone down with the house itself. There were so many that he lost to the hellfire caused by Athrun and his comrades, but it wasn't entirely their fault. Of course Kira was weary of placing the blame on people besides himself, but when Patrick Zala came into mind, there was nothing stopping him.

That man had easily torn apart the very friendship Athrun and himself had formed so strongly, so woven together that it was harder to break apart than the most solid piece of rock. Yet a single man with a different view of the world and a different way of thinking burnt it to the ground and forcing one another to hate what had been such a peaceful, blissful, unmistakable friendship.

Did he hate Athrun?

Kira had never thought of that before. But it was absolute nonsense to hate someone like Athrun that it made his heart cry in pain. His mind had never even touched the subject that maybe things change, as do people. He knew that, but when Athrun lay on the floor during their brief encounter, he was still the same person he had always been.

His influences had changed, that's all.

Athrun had always looked up to his father, even though you couldn't call him the 'best parent'. So it had came as no surprise to Kira that his friend from so long ago was now working for him, and in the Mafia no less. But he would just have to accept his choice in life and there was nothing else for him to do.

His heart felt otherwise.

Would he ever be able to see Athrun as the 'enemy'? Could he shoot him if it came down to it? Was Athrun just as troubled by all of this as he was? Would they ever come to terms and possibly reform the same friendship they had lost over six years ago?

"_Athrun..."_

Kira sat in a wooden chair, uncomfortable and hard. He took a half-hearted sip of his coffee, steam rising in almost invisible waves across his face. Sunlight coming from the pearly white curtains to his left kissed his skin as he thought to himself inside a small kitchen.

After fleeing with Cagalli and his father, Kira was warmly invited into his friend's home, that of Tolle Koenig. They were aloud to wander freely and stay as long as it was necessary. The great Don of Orb was overwhelmed by their offer and felt guilty for accepting such a huge show of gratitude to his family. It eventually worked and this is where they now resided.

Kira glanced out the curtain covered windows, wrapping himself in past's memories. He finished off the last of his coffee, set the cup down onto a white, woven table cloth. The brown haired mobster closed his eyes and let those same memories take him away, being good or bad held no such worry in his own peaceful state.

_Birdie._

_That's what Kira finally decided to call the small, green feathered creature. It was the only thing that it ever said, no matter how hard the small boy tried to get him to say 'Birdie want a cracker,' 'what's up,' or even 'Birdie's going to kill you while you sleep' (he only tried that when the bird wouldn't say anything else and was thankful that his feathered friend never repeated those words). _

_Every time he looked at the bird, he wondered what it felt like to be stuck in a cage for your whole life. One day he decided to stop that from happening and let the bird loose. He closed every door, window, and vent off so it wouldn't fly away._

_But wasn't he just imprisoning it again?_

_Kira walked up to the golden barred cage, extending his hand with his index finger outstretched the farthest. He already had the entrapment open and crossed his fingers in his mind that Birdie would not fly away, never to be seen again._

_When two small feet gently landed on his finger, Kira jumped slightly. In turn the bird became startled by his sudden movement and lifted off, flying around the room. Kira began to worry, but his emotions were replaced with surprise when Birdie landed in front of a portrait._

_Birdie pointed it's beak to a picture of Athrun, who had his tongue sticking out, glaring at the person taking the picture, which had been Kira. The brown haired kid picked up the picture, grasping it by the wooden frame. He watched as Birdie cocked it's head to the side and pecked at Athrun when Kira lowered the picture back to it's original place._

"_Yes, that's Athrun."_

_Birdie flew off and landed on Kira's shoulder. Kira raised his hand towards the bird and waited patiently for it to hop on his finger again. When his feathered friend did as he wished, Kira placed the bird back into the golden barred cage, silently closing the little door behind it._

"_Why did this have to happen to us?"_

Three years after that, Birdie had passed away, leaving Kira with nothing more than an empty cage to stare blankly at. That had gone down in the fire along with everything else that held some sort of importance to him.

Kira lifted his head, that had slipped into the curve of his arm while he was in a world of the past. He cleared his eyes and sat up, walking over to the kitchen sink and placed his empty coffee cup into it. Thinking to himself again, Kira left the small room and went back to his makeshift room supplied by Tolle, then closed the door behind him.

* * *

The meeting was extremely boring and irrelevant to Athrun and his state of mind. Of course he had been scolded for not dressing properly and was almost humiliated in front of Crueset by his father, but it wouldn't have mattered if he did, he didn't care at all.

Now as Athrun walked slowly down the hallway of their 'meeting house', he wished that he hadn't gone on that mission for Yzak's sake and stayed home instead. He stepped in front of a wooden door, one that hid a room where lockers lined the walls filled with their weapons and special clothing.

Athrun didn't remember walking into that room, but he was now standing before his own locker, still wearing the same red and white outfit that he had worn on the night Kira's house burnt down. As he turned to open his locker, Athrun felt a pair of gloved hands grab the collar of his shirt to spin him around.

Yzak's face displayed a combination of both anger and hatred as he glared savagely at Athrun. He became angered further when Athrun showed no response to his actions.

"What the hell were you up to that night?"

Athrun tilted his head to the side, ignoring Yzak's question. His eyes still held that deep thinking look mixed with a strong sadness.

"Answer me!"

"Ya, Athrun. We almost had him and you ruined any chance of that," Dearka stated from his seated position in a couch to the left of them.

"Can't we settle this some other way?" Nicol looked at Yzak and Athrun.

The silver haired mobster pushed back on Athrun, letting him go but also throwing his weakened body into the lockers behind him. Yzak walked out of the room in a fit of rage. Dearka sat up and followed his friend.

"What's wrong Athrun?" Nicol asked.

"I just need to be alone," was his only reply.

Nicol looked at Athrun with a worried expression before leaving, despite what he thought at the time. He slowly left the room, checking behind him to see if Athrun was alright, then exited the room without any protest.

Athrun finally straightened his head out, looked forward without much expression, and left the room himself. He went directly towards his own room, but was distracted when several armed men ran past, guns drawn.

"Hurry," one of them said, "we've got to stop those Orb scum before they totally destroy the place!"

"Rodger that!" Another replied.

Athrun decided to follow them instead, suddenly interested in what was going on. He trailed after the group of men, always making sure that he wasn't spotted. When he came to the outside world, the sudden change in light hurt his eyes.

Meanwhile, back at Tolle's house, Kira heard the commotion coming from outside and ran to grab his gun- one of the only things that survived the fire for it was in his pocket when the massive house fell victim to the deadly flames. He met up with Tolle and his parents. He noticed that his own family members were missing, then remembered that they went out somewhere.

Kira told Tolle to watch over the house. He took the safety off his gun, turned around to make sure that Tolle and his parents stayed where they were, nodded his head and took off towards the sound of gunfire and explosions that suddenly irrupted in the distance.


	9. If we could go back Pt III

Author's note: This will be the last installment of the three piece part of Burn that Baby. This chapter will have more action, less weeping. The following chapters after this one will most likely circulate around both sides and Lacus will be appearing soon as well. The reviews are pilling up and so is my inspiration, thanks again.

* * *

"Die Orb scum!"

"You damn PLANTs members going to pay for what you've done!"

"Blasted fools!"

The streets were filled with fighting men, women, and children. Gunfire echoed all around, sending those that played no part in the Mafia running for cover. Vegetable stands were knocked over, buildings destroyed. Nobody paid any attention to exactly what they were doing but were more focused on killing the 'enemy', which held a different name on either side.

People lay on the ground, either dying or injured badly. If being shot by a high powered gun or stabbed by a knife nearly killed them, those that fell were trampled on like the grass under a stampede of elephants. Not one person could be helped in the outbreak of violence. It was every man for himself.

Athrun had used all of the strength his body harbored. When he reached the bloody scene of fighting Mafia members, breathing hard and in need of a good rest, the blue haired mobster stopped suddenly. His breath hitched in his throat and his eyes widened drastically when he caught sight of a small child, a small innocent looking child, wielding a gun.

This was a total mess.

Shouting from every direction made it hard for him to hear as well as the gunfire, but Athrun managed to make out the voices of Yzak and Dearka while they fought on, blood smeared across both their faces. He called out for them and spotted his green haired friend, Nicol, approaching from the side. He greeted him first before Yzak and Dearka finally figured out just who it was that had called out their names.

"Athrun!"

"What's going on?"

Nicol stopped in front of Athrun, breathing just as fast as he was with a worried expression painted boldly onto his face.

"I don't know but Yzak and Dearka are in there somewhere."

"Yeah," Athrun replied, "I just saw them a few seconds ago."

"Oh good."

"So why aren't you in there fighting with them?"

"I thought we should wait for you and take it from a whole different approach."

Athrun looked to the side, grimacing at all the violence occurring before letting out a sigh and facing Nicol.

"Good idea but I don't think it'll work now."

Yzak and Dearka appeared, side by side, a gun in each of their hands. The blond had a smirk plastered on his face as did Yzak, but it was more cold than Dearka's. He narrowed his eyes at Athrun, remembering what had happened earlier. He stood silent for a while, then decided to speak, despite what he felt towards the blue haired mobster.

"Took you long enough."

"I'm sure he has better things to do," Dearka commented.

"I was attending an important meeting," Athrun shot back, looking past his silver haired rival to watch as the violence prevailed, making him wish for better days. "Besides I-"

Something caught his attention amidst the group of fighting people. Yzak could be heard as he questioned the reason why he stopped speaking and Dearka making yet another sarcastic remark. Athrun focused more on the figure and almost stepped forward when his eyes latched onto the form of Kira, one that he forever had etched into his memory no matter how hard he tried to erase it.

"What's wrong Athrun?" Nicol's voice echoed in the background of his mind.

Athrun did indeed take a step forward, almost hitting Yzak in the process. He took another step, then another and another. The fighting crowd grew closer, the stench of copper and gun powder filling his nostrils. Nevertheless, Athrun continued on, determined to reach the person his heart called out for.

* * *

Kira blocked an attack made by a tall man, using his gun as a shield. He lowered himself to the ground in a split second, saving himself from being beheaded by a sharp dagger the man held tightly in his hands. The brown haired mobster darted his purple eyes from side to side, watching out for assailants at all times.

He was only trying to get out of this mess and find Cagalli and their father, scared for their lives. It was then that the horrific scene had made its grand appearance before him, startling Kira in the process. He didn't want to fight but the lives of others rested in his hands, leaving him no choice but to fight his way through the crowd, trying to limit his use of violence towards others.

Now as he stood in the middle of it all, Kira was only more determined to get out of this mess when he spotted his sister's scruffy hair and his father's tall figure. It was then that he saw a figure approaching from behind them, a weapon visible in her or his hand.

Cagalli was nobody to mess with and Kira was thankful for that. He watched in between the fighting people and protecting himself as she spun around, gun drawn, and took down their stalker who had been prepared to shoot down the Don of Orb. She rushed their father into a safe house, one that Kira had been in before, and shut the door behind them.

Kira dodged several attacks and finally made it out of the bloodshed, panting for air. He moved away from the crowd and walked to a secluded area. He then heard distant voices coming from behind, and immediately recognized them as Athrun's friends, who had burnt down his house.

"Hey! He's alive!" The one with the blond hair shouted out, bringing more attention upon Kira as Yzak, Nicol, and Athrun turned their heads towards the direction Dearka was pointing in.

"Finally, I get to finish him off." Kira heard the silver haired one sneer.

He cursed himself when he entered a dead end and could nothing but watch as the four figures made their way towards him, the unmistakable shadow of a gun clutched tightly in each of their hands, including Athrun's. He readied himself for a fight and felt his breath hitch in his throat when Athrun stood boldly in the way of the other three, arms spread out as wide as they could ever get.

"Just what the hell are you doing?" Yzak rounded on Athrun, terribly angry. "You can't stop me from killing him again!"

"Let me... Let me do this by myself... I'll kill him by myself."

"Wha-"

"Just let him go Yzak," Nicol said in a quiet voice that held a powerful command within it.

Athrun gave Nicol a half hearted smile and turned around, facing Kira. He approached cautiously and thought he should have his gun ready just in case his former friend tried to pull something, but found out shortly after that Kira already had his gun drawn; pointed directly at his heart.

_Kira..._

_Athrun..._

The blue haired mobster was only three feet away, studying the brown haired mobster's face with his emerald eyes. Kira wanted to lower the gun, but they were enemies now and he had no other choice. When Athrun took a step forward, Kira placed his index finger on the trigger of his gun, ready to fire at any time he willed.

Suddenly Athrun took a large step forward and dodged a bullet that flew straight towards him. He looked at Kira while bracing himself for another attack.

"Kira come with us!" He watched as his former friend's expression began to change. "If not, I'll have no other choice but to shoot you!" He raised his own weapon, aiming for the exact place that Kira was. "Why remain in Orb?"

Shocked, Kira closed his eyes and shook his head several times, brown hair swerving from side to side in sync with it.

"I have no wish to fight you... but there are people in Orb that I have sworn to protect!"

It was Athrun's turn to be shocked. Anger fluttered inside his stomach and mind, winning over the shock and sadness that had been placed there. His eyebrows became furrowed, emerald orbs livid, lips turning into a snarl.

"So that's your answer? Then the next time I see you, I'll shoot at will!"

"As will I!"

Kira shot at the ground before Athrun's feet and rushed forward when his former friend became distracted. He rounded a corner before Athrun could fire back and ran off when Athrun's friends spotted him yet again; not even looking back once as he made his way towards the safe house that Cagalli and their father had entered.


	10. But nowhere is home

Author's note: Okay so now we move ahead in the story. In all honesty I haven't thought up anything past last chapter so I've had to contemplate what to do next and it hasn't exactly been easy either. I'll apologize in advance for the short chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter.

* * *

Kira walked alongside his hotheaded sister, discussing the trouble they were faced with. It hadn't been easy returning to the safe house where Cagalli's demanding questions couldn't be answered without spilling out the truth. He was afraid for Athrun's sake, even if he had sworn to shoot him the next time they met.

There was nothing that wouldn't point to the opposite side or even hint to somebody in the PLANTs, causing Kira to fake being ill from all the fighting. It has worked wondrously for the brown haired mobster, allowing him to slip past Cagalli's questions and his father's strong words.

"Where do you think we'll end up being in a couple of weeks?" The blond asked before she took a large bite out of her chocolate ice cream cone that had already begun dripping down her hand. "Since we can't stay at your friend's house forever, you know what I mean?"

"Well-"

"I can't stand this," Cagalli cut him off. "First they burn down our house and now they're after you."

Kira faltered, almost tripping forward. There was no way that Cagalli knew several members of the PLANTs were after him, why it was impossible. At least he hoped so.

"How did you-"

"Kira, it isn't that hard to figure out."

"We just have to be more careful," he stared ahead and watched as a group of men walked by. It was nearly impossible to not know that they belonged to Orb's side. "So you shouldn't try to get yourself killed all the time by taking so many risks either."

"The 'risks' that I take are nothing compared to some of the things you do, so don't tell me to be careful."

They passed a pole sporting hundreds of taped on papers, most advertisements. Kira stopped here often and read the faded print, always looking for something interesting. Today, however, there was a fresh one nailed into the pole with a picture of a woman on it.

'Lacus Clyne', the yellow colored paper said in black, bold print. Under that in a slightly smaller print were the words: 'Wanted For The Possession Of Illegal Fire Arms By The City Police'. Kira ripped the paper off the pole so he had no problems reading what had been printed underneath the rather large headlines.

'Lacus Clyne is suspected to have taken part in the manufacturing of illegal firearms. She is to be treated with extreme caution as Lacus is a deadly woman who will shoot innocent people. If you have any information on Lacus Clyne, please contact the police.'

"Sounds like a real lovely person," Cagalli commented sarcastically. "Wouldn't want to come across her."

"Is she a part of the PLANTs?"

"Lacus? No. She isn't on their side or ours. Last thing I heard was that she was planning to leave the country."

"How do you know her?" Kira asked, suspicious as to why his sister would know these things. Of course he should have know why, she did travel around quite a bit.

Cagalli gave him a 'do-you-really-want-to-know' look and walked off, finishing her ice cream cone. Kira followed after her, still looking over the piece of paper and wondering how somebody that looked so kind could apparently act so cruel. But he had been told numerous times that you never judge another person by what they looked like and this was a perfect example.

"Um," Kira walked in sync to Cagalli, "Where are we going now?"

"We need to find a new place to live."

"In this neighbor hood?"

"No."

They walked several blocks until the main street that they had been walking on was no where to be seen. By then it was well into the afternoon. Kira's legs couldn't move properly anymore but he continued to follow Cagalli anyways.

This area looked completely different than the one that they had just been traveling through. Kira was itching to ask if this was the place that Cagalli had in mind but missed his chance to ask when they both stopped in front of a massive house, larger than the one that they had lived in.

"You're joking," Kira stared at the impressive building in awe. "Is this the place you were talking about?"

"No I was talking about that one," Cagalli pointed to an extremely small house with paint peeling from every direction. "Of course I was talking about this house."

"But how are we going to afford a house this big?"

"Don't worry, I've looked into it and there's enough money for us. We'll be fine."

"Were you stealing again?"

Cagalli looked away and watched as a car rode by. She instinctively reached for her gun when the car slowed down as it passed. Someone in the backseat lowered their window and a skinny black object was placed outside, aimed towards them.

"Duck!" Cagalli shouted as several bullets peppered the ground where they once stood, creating small holes in the cement sidewalk.

The smell of burning rubber filled Kira's nostrils as the car spun its tires on the road. From their hiding place behind the wall of their would be house, Cagalli ignored Kira's protests that she stay where she was and jumped out, firing two bullets into the back tires of the car.

"Take that, bastards."

Coming to a complete stop, the car ended up at the end of the road. Four doors were flung open as seven figures jumped out, guns drawn. They quickly advanced on the two siblings and wasted no time in showing them that they were meant to die. Kira didn't take it too easily and withdrew his own gun, pulling Cagalli back to safety before she got shot.

"This is PLANTs territory!" One of them yelled before Kira took him down with a single bullet to the stomach.

"Cagalli," Kira spoke in a serious tone, warning her that this better not be a place within the PLANTs area.

"Don't listen to them, this place is on neutral ground."

"Then why-"

"They're idiots," she shot down another man who was trying to sneak up on them. "That's why."

The sun was slowly setting and it was becoming dark outside, making it nearly impossible for Kira to see where everyone was. They wouldn't be safe out here at night, not with the Mafia gone wild. Even a neutral area wouldn't be able to keep them out of danger.

Frustrated and afraid that he would get his sister killed, Kira jumped onto the front lawn of the massive house and tucked himself between the small space where the house went in further to reveal a wooden door. He dropped his empty clip on the group and replaced it with a new one, making sure nobody was close enough to get a cheap shot.

In a matter of seconds two more men had fallen. Kira darted away from the house and to the other side of the street, taking down another man in the process of doing so. With their attention directed towards him, Cagalli came out from behind the house and felled one more, leaving only a single man to fend for himself.

"Come on," Kira said once he returned to his sister's side. He spotted a narrow back alley to the left of him and darted towards it, dragging Cagalli along with him.

It wasn't that dark out for any gangs to be lurking around and they couldn't afford to be out in the open, least they want to get shot. What better than a dark alley to take shelter in?

As they ran headlong towards the small break between two large buildings, footsteps could be heard from behind them. Kira quickened his pace, knowing that Cagalli could easily match it without any problems whatsoever.

Before the darkness consumed them, a shadowed figure emerged from within the back alley, causing Kira and Cagalli to stop as fast as they could. Not taking any chances, they both aimed their guns at the person who was blocking their way and prepared to fire.


	11. Everything is coming up pink

Author's note: Sorry for the lack of an update, but my life has become rather... hectic to say the least. There were some problems writing this chapter, but they have been beaten to a bloody pulp and so I bring you another chapter of Burn that Baby!

* * *

Kira took everything in with a slow perspective. It was like watching a slow motion scene in an expensive multi platinum movie. Their pursuer's footsteps echoed in the back of his mind while a demanding voice cut any ideas he had in half. He clearly wasn't thinking too well and pulled the trigger of his gun, closing his eyes as the guilt settled in.

When a gasp of pain should have filled the dark alley, but did not, Kira forced his eyes to open again and looked frantically around, searching for the victim of his weapon. There was nothing to greet his eyes but a small pile of three people to the left of him, two out of the three covering someone underneath.

Beside him, Kira caught Cagalli's movements and watched as she whirled around, bringing down the man who was about to lodge a bullet into the back of his head. Kira turned to Cagalli, who was breathing heavily from all the running and fighting. He could tell she was exhausted and went to suggest returning back to Tolle's, but a voice like no other prevented him from doing so.

"Oh my... what has happened here?"

Kira could tell by the look on Cagalli's face that she recognized this person and squinted his eyes to make out the form of the person who had just spoken and shook his head as if he was seeing things. This couldn't be her, could it?

"I apologize if we scared you," her clam voice rang in Kira's ears, "Oh, let me introduce myself." The person stepped into the dim light Kira and Cagalli were standing in and outstretched a hand towards him. "My name is Lacus, Lacus Clyne."

So he wasn't imagining this after all.

Kira was speechless, as was Cagalli. Even she couldn't find the words to voice what she was thinking and he was just as powerless. Taking their silence as a sign of shock from their knowledge of the things people were after her for, Lacus spoke once again.

"Please, I would be honored if you would come to my place for some tea."

Kira looked at her in a strange manner, but nodded his head nonetheless. Cagalli mimicked his actions and within seconds they were following Lacus and her body guards through a never ending maze of dark alleys and places they didn't even know existed.

It took them well over twenty minutes to reach their intended destination, and by then Kira and Cagalli were both worn from all the excitement of the day and all the exercise that they had endured. The door, painted black to camouflage into the dark environment, stood before them now and was swung open from someone on the other side when Lacus assured them that they weren't enemies.

Bright lights, revealing the entire place, hung loosely by the thick cables coming from the wooden roof. Oddly colored carpets decorated the floor and were accompanied by wooden stools and ancient looking artifacts, most made out of wood. Two sofas sat off in the furthest part of this place and formed a makeshift living room. To the left of Kira were two silver fridges and a stove that was surrounded by a polished wooden counter top. Three walls appeared randomly and Kira guessed one of them belonged to Lacus and the others to her body guards and friends.

The pink haired woman directed them over to the twin sofas and sat down on the one opposite of Kira and Cagalli, folding her hands politely on her lap. She gave them a kind smile and settled into a peaceful state of silence while the two siblings grew nervous.

"Oh, where are my manners?" Lacus said, "I forgot to get the tea."

"Allow me to Lacus," one of her body guards offered.

"Very well, thank you." She looked at Kira and cocked her head to the side. "I'm afraid I didn't catch your name."

"Uh... Kira, Kira Yamato."

"And you are?"

"Cagalli."

"Well Kira and Cagalli, welcome to my home. We are having some misfortunes lately and cannot afford to stay anywhere else. I apologize for asking, but, where is it that you two come from? I have never seen you around here before."

Kira averted his eyes, but Cagalli held her gaze. Kira had no clue who's side Lacus was on, but they were apart of Orb and he knew he shouldn't feel ashamed of it.

"Orb," he said, still looking downcast.

Lacus didn't show any signs of shock and simply nodded her head, as if in understanding. She shifted in her position and Kira regained his composure, looking back up at her. He was about to speak, but Cagalli beat him to it, however, she didn't say the same things he was going to.

"Sorry Lacus, but we should be going."

"You go on ahead," Kira spoke up, "I think I'm going to stay here for a while longer."

"Wouldn't you like some tea?"

Cagalli waved her hand as to say 'no thanks' and sat up. She gave Lacus her apologies and wished Kira good luck on returning home, then made for the door shortly after. When Cagalli was gone, Kira leaned forward a bit and stared solemnly at Lacus.

"What side do you belong to Lacus?"

"I belong to nothing. It would be impossible for me to do that, seeing how both sides want me turned in for one reason or another."

"But why are you wanted for such serious crimes? Did you really commit them?"

"The illegal gun crimes?"

"Yes."

Lacus sat up and went into one of the oddly placed rooms and returned back to where Kira was, holding a silver case. She set it down on the table separating the twin sofas and stuck a key in the lock. She lifted the lid once it was opened and pulled out the most deadliest looking gun Kira had ever set eyes upon.

It was the size of an ordinary handgun and looked just as heavy too. The barrel however, wasn't a single barrel, but was doubled and was coated with silver. A midnight black scope, small in size, sprouted from it and obviously helped out a great deal when aiming. The trigger was coated with a different color of silver and managed to stand out quite a bit. The grip of the gun was deep red color, almost black, and at the bottom of it was... a pink dot?

"What is that?" Kira asked, a little confused.

"This is a Haro 2000. It is illegal and is very powerful, but nobody has any clue what it is. But the PLANTs want its design and Orb wants it for better protection, but I'm unable to give them what they want."

"Who made it?"

"A man I once knew, but has drifted off over the years. His name... was Athrun Zala."


	12. Moonlight meeting

Author's note: Sorry for the late update. Some news regarding this story, it's big bad and ugly. I've decided to put it on hold so I can properly finish off any unfinished stories I have laying around. This is bad news, but the wait shouldn't be that long and by the time I get around to writing another chapter, more ideas will be brought forth and the story will be a lot more interesting. I have **not** abandoned Burn that Baby, nor do I intend to, I just need to let some thoughts come flowing back into my scrambled mind. However, I'd like to thank everyone for reviewing so far, look for another update soon.

* * *

Full fledged darkness consumed him. The brick wall he leaned against was cold and frigid, causing his skin to tingle and goose flesh to form. It was dark and his violet eyes could see nothing before them, except a street light that looked so far away, like it would take him an hour to reach it if he really wanted to.

Thoughts pooled into his mind, flooding them with the good and the bad. It was so hard to concentrate, let alone think of what his future would turn out to be. Somethings he let slip, others he skimmed through and decided that thinking at this time of night, especially since he was beyond over tired, was a bad idea. Yet he found it nearly impossible to let go of some of them, the biggest thought at that.

Athrun.

He wanted to talk to him like a normal human being, laugh alongside him, be there for him. He had no choice but to remain separated from his blue haired friend, hating every single moment of it too. Surely he could talk Athrun out of being in the PLANTs. But as Kira stood silently, he weighed out what his friend thought at the time and how much pressure was obviously being applied to him by his father, and knew, even though he regretted it, that the possibility of them restoring that friendship they had so long ago was absolutely impossible.

Those sweet memories he knew they both held deeply in their hearts and kept locked away in a safe little box in their minds, were the only thing that connected them now. It was the sad truth, the bitter reality that neither wanted to face. Ever since that day so long ago, Kira had felt empty, just like a shell. He often wondered if Athrun felt the same. He must have, he hoped, because from those few short moments he had made some sort of encounter with his lost friend, Kira could see it in his emerald eyes, sticking out horribly. The loneliness was becoming unbearable.

Kira slowly let himself fade into the world that now surrounded him, breaking away from the past. He had listened to the words Lacus spoke kindly, yet seriously, and learned something very interesting about her. She sure wasn't the criminal and violent person he had heard about. She had surprised him numerous times during their discussion, telling him about Athrun and how he had entwined himself in her life. It wasn't a surprise, however, to hear that it was the cause of his father.

A breeze flapped the edges of his shirt, showing the bare skin underneath. More skin bunched up, as if it was trying to escape the cold. Kira decided that it was time to go and batted the thoughts and fond memories away, even as Athrun's small, childish voice rang through his ears. He turned to face the same direction of the street lamp, pushing himself off the cold stone wall. His footsteps were quiet in the dark alley, one so tight that only one person would be able to fit in it, width wise. He scanned the pitch black ground with his eyes, easily evading several obstacles. Kira didn't have night vision, but his eyes had adjusted to the darkness so seeing things that didn't quite belong wasn't an issue, as long as the lamp didn't move anywhere for it created the shadows that he had managed to spot as they came up, one at a time.

It didn't take as long as he thought to reach the lamp. Now propped against it, looking around for a place to go, Kira suddenly realized that he was lost. This place brought forth no recognition, it was strange and very different from the neighborhood he now resided in. Nevertheless, Kira knew that by working himself up he would only make things more complicated so he pressed forwards until a small park came into view.

Sheltered by many trees, alone and quiet, the park glowed in Kira's eyes. There was a small water fountain nearby, its presence made only from the constant trickling of water as it pooled over its edges and into a bowl like shape where it would be shot back up to the top of the fountain. The strong smell of freshly cut grass was easily noticed by the brown haired mobster. Shadows of benches were cast with the help of the moonlight, a number of four in total. The glowing orb's reflection came up fast as Kira walked further into it, rippling in a small pond. This place was so calm and peaceful, even in a time of fighting and sorrow.

Kira went to a nearby bench, resting his tiring legs. He let his back lean against the back of it, the sound of wood brushing into fabric filling his ears. His sore body felt like it would sigh in relief, but Kira stopped it from doing so when he jerked to the side, only to stare at the pond as if he was being hypnotized.

The shape of the moon was perfect and calm on the surface of the water, unmoving since he sat down. Sounds that he hadn't noticed before, the crickets humming, stray dogs barking, the sway of grass as the cold night air blew over it, caused him to smile. Kira found it irresistible not to chuck something into the reflection and soon found himself obeying his mind, reaching down onto the ground to grasp onto a good sized rock. He aimed it, closing his right eye, and tossed it instead of chucking it, and watched as the reflection became blurry.

A million different orbs danced on the surface of the water, amusing Kira. He gazed deeply at them, watching as they slowly regrouped to form a whole shape. This night was so peaceful all of the sudden. His feelings of lost hope and sorrow seemed to fade away with the help of the moon. He wished he could stay here forever.

Not even in the past had he felt like this. It would've been grand, especially if Athrun was there with him. They had done so much together, cherishing every moment for what it was worth. He recalled feeling no pain and no loss with his friend around, it was truly a good time. And like all good things, it had come to an end, a bitter, painful end.

Kira picked up another rock as a twig snapped to his left. He turned in the direction of the noise, eyes falling upon the last person he imagined seeing on this night. Feeling that everything would be ruined, Kira turned to the opposite side, so that his face couldn't be seen. The moon was thankfully not as bright as it had seemed in the first place, making it hard for anybody to recognize him.

The person, as if turned out to be, walked over to the bench Kira was positioned at and sat down, dead silent. He shifted to look at the stranger beside him, taking in his darkened features. It didn't take him long to figure out who the brown haired mobster was, but kept it to himself.

They sat in silence for the longest time, enjoying each others company without speaking a single word. It then became unbearable for the 'stranger' who had shown up, driving him crazy. Kira jumped slightly when a hand came to rest on his shoulder. He turned to face the 'stranger' and was surprised that he had recognized him.

"You really try hard to hide yourself, don't you?" The 'stranger', who wasn't a stranger at all, said in a humor ridden voice.

"Yeah."

"What are you doing all the way over here?"

"Lacus."

Athrun flinched at her name, making Kira suspicious. He decided not to question him, but couldn't help it.

"Why did you make that illegal gun Athrun?"

"It was for her safety," he spoke in a hushed voice. Had Kira not been siting right beside him, he would have never heard a word he said.

"What happened?"

"Can we drop it?"

"Do the PLANTs know about it?"

"_Kira_," Athrun warned.

The brown haired mobster took the rock that had been forgotten up until now, and tossed it into the water, disturbing the calmness of the water once again. He settled into another period of silence, watching as a group of clouds passed over the moon, leaving them in darkness.

"Can't we go back to the way things used to be?" Kira whispered, afraid to shatter the comfortable silence.

Athrun smirked. Kira always was the more immature one, always acting so childish. He never thought it to be annoying, but rather humorous for the most part. "Kira, a lot has changed since then."

Bitter reality sunk into both their hearts, filling them with pain. It was the harsh reality and they both knew it.

Kira closed his eyes, sighing, then lightly rested his head on Athrun's shoulder. He felt at peace and didn't want it to be any other way. Athrun felt guilty for mistreating his friend for so long, for never trying hard enough to contact him, for threatening to take his life the next time they met. He too closed his eyes.

They were both bathed in bright moonlight when it had appeared from behind the clouds, savoring each others presence once again. The water was calm on the pond, the fountain still working away in the background while the wind was reduced to nothing. Everything was calm.

They remained that way for a long time.


	13. A shot to the head of sanity

Author's note: Okay, so I took an extremely long break from this story, but I'm back yet again to bring you another update. Also, I would like to point out something that has come to my attention. First off, it seems that I have scared all of my reviewers off save for one Foggy Brains. Did you not know that this was an Athrun and Kira story? Well it was sure listed under that pairing, but do not be afraid and hide under some table because I'm more of a person who likes to write fight scenes and totally brew up some major angst so you will rarely see anything that happened in the previous update. Last chapter is a whole new start to the story. But, sadly, to those who care, I bring news that may or may not be of any concern to you. This story will be ending soon because I just can't see it going any further, and my reviewers have all run away, I literally live off the response I get and that's the only thing that really keeps me going, especially with a story like this. Now get ready for some butt cramps and prepare for another chapter of Burn that baby!

* * *

Something incredibly bright bore into his tired and sore eyes. Sleep was hypnotic, constantly pulling him back into a world of happier times. But this was growing to be quite bothersome for a one blue haired Athrun Zala, who snapped his eyes irritably open and reached over to the window, pulling the thin fabric that were his curtains shut with one flick of his wrist.

His feathery pillow collied with the side of his face, bringing a calming warmth with it. He was beginning to lull back into a state of dreams, his own picked and perfected unconsciousness, when his bedroom door was slammed open, a very angered looking man, a particular Patrick Zala, Don of the PLANTs, standing frigidly straight in his son's doorway. Athrun knew the day wasn't going to start off on the right track. Hell, it never did.

"Athrun, get up. You're an hour late already for the annual ball!" The Don spun around, only sparring Athrun a quick glance to say, "And put something decent on."

His wooden door was slammed shut roughly, sending vibrations up and down the walls. A picture to his left rattled inside of its frame, the only picture of his family looking happy. Then, as if time had slowed down, the picture was pushed off of the nail holding it in place and went flying towards the ground. Athrun cringed as shards of glass littered his floor in an instant.

"Athrun? What was that?" Came his father's voice down the long stretch of a hallway.

"Nothing!"

The blue haired mobster fell to his knees, felt the sharp pieces of glass pierce his skin, and began moving all the bigger shards of glass out of his way, trying to find the picture as his hands, now shaky and blood stained, were corrupt with pain. It felt like an eternity before Athrun was able to clutch the picture, a sad and sorry link to the past, just one of many he harbored in his room.

It had been taken before the Mafia had split into different groups. A beautiful, delicate black and white photograph. The corners were a little worn from constantly being taken out, mostly during the times where he cried for better days as a child. His mother's face was lit up so brilliantly, a smile like no other gracing her lips. His father was dressed in a dark suit, arm wrapped around her waist, a smile just as genuine as his mother's, one he hadn't seen for so long, lighting up his aging face. And Athrun himself, small and clad in a school uniform, had his arms wrapped around science fair project, a ribbon with a big number one printed in gold attached to it.

He had lost that ribbon and that project years ago. His mother had lost her flare and her never ending smiles. And his father had turned his back on him and taken away the only person he really cared about. He never could have pictured his life like this. It was horrible.

"Mother... father... what happened to us?"

Athrun stood up, small slivers of glass digging deeply into his bare feet but he felt so numb and distant that he took no notice at the growing pain. His heart was hurting more than that right now. It was like somebody had taken a wooden stake and stabbed him with it.

He went for his unorganized closet and opened the door, coming face to face with nothing but darkness. A quick flick of his hand and the light beamed horrendously into his still sore eyes. He spent no time looking for something and grabbed a read suit and a yellow shirt, throwing them on in a hurry, then managed to pick out a half decent pair of black pants.

Nearly running out of his closet, Athrun headed towards his bed to hide the picture of Kira that he had taken out the night before. As he stuffed it gently under the lone, feathery pillow, reality crashed down onto his shoulders. Everything was hazy.

It wasn't long after they had met at the park while the moon was at its brightest before they started to talk. Kira was obviously hurt by all the quick changes that they had been forced into, but when he spoke it was like none of the sadness lingered in his heart.

They had small conversations about what they did during the day, who was doing what, and most importantly, the life they had before. It was heart wrenching for them both, to listen to some of the things that they did, activities that they never thought possible when they were young. But their memories were sweet and lightened the mood which they had both set themselves into.

Athrun learned that Kira's family was still strong, much unlike his own, and that his sister and father were faring well. He was told about some of the small adventures they had from time to time and then Kira told him about his encounter with Lacus. It was quickly brushed off and not too long after, they departed, each going their own separate ways.

They did that a lot now.

Separate ways... would they ever be as one again?

Looking back at his bed only once, Athrun quickly darted out the door, grabbing a pair of shoes before leaving, and left completely. The broken glass glistened magically in the sunlight that had managed to pool between Athrun's drawn curtains. Small droplets of blood stained some of them and as the reflection the glass created danced on the ceiling above, the orbs of light tinted red formed a broken heart.

* * *

Evey note was played with perfection. His fingers glided over the keys so swiftly that they were almost undetectable. The melody of which he created was so calm and peaceful that it had begun to lull Athrun into a light sleep, but it was rudely shattered when a sharp elbow dug roughly into his ribs.

Nicol glanced quickly over to where Athrun was standing, smirking when he saw his older friend start to drift off. He concentrated back on his music, eyes scanning over ever note and octave and quickly transferring the music through his fingers and onto the classic piano, beaming at the response he was receiving for all his hard work and long hours of practice.

Athrun's dad, the Don of the PLANTs, walked up to his son and Nicol fully turned away, exactly when Patrick Zala woke his son up, rather harshly too. Nicol himself wasn't too fond of the leader and aging man of their Mafia and always managed to move away or leave the room when he entered because the Don didn't have the presence of a man who was loyal and trustworthy. That was what bothered the young musician that most.

He looked over once again, just to make sure that everything was alright, but the only thing that met Nicol's wandering eyes were the tails of Athrun's suit before they completely vanished behind a stone corner. The pianist wanted to stop playing and rescue his friend from an obvious 'scolding', but could not.

Outside of the meeting hall that had been beautifully decorated with blue ribbons and silver balloons, Athrun was flung roughly against the stone wall, one of many that created the meeting hall. He cringed when his father's voice screeched loudly in his ears.

"I know what you've been up to!" He hollered. "Hanging around with the enemy! You're a sad excuse for a son I tell you."

"He's not _my_ enemy! He's my friend!"

Athrun was rewarded with an angry slap to the face. Hot pain made itself known on his reddened cheek, causing his own anger to build up.

"What happened to you father? Why couldn't the Mafia be as one? Why did you have to ruin everything?"

By now Athrun was hysteric, yelling loudly and advancing on his father like a predator. His emerald eyes were filled with hidden hatred and anger and with every step he took the hatred grew and grew as all the pain and sorrow and longing for a better life caught up with him.

There was a loud _click_ in his face before Athrun was staring down the barrel of handgun, his father digging it painfully into his forehead. But Athrun had been trained by the best and was an expert at getting out of tight situations.

With speed his own father had no idea he possessed, Athrun shot his arm out forwards, knocking the deadly weapon out of the Don's hands with his balled up fist. He crouched low for a few split seconds, eyes glowing dangerously and decided to run instead of injure his own father.

But as he ran for the nearest back alley, a loud noise broke the thick silence that had sprung up and Athrun felt immense pain before he tumbled into a world of darkness.


	14. Differences tie us apart

Author's note: I have brought with me another update! So, in this chapter it'll be revealed what happened to Athrun and what his fate will most likely come to. I've narrowed this story down to about three or four more chapters. I'd also like to thank those who reviewed and I wish to apologize for being rather brash in the last little note I had in the last chapter, the sudden leave of my common reviewers pretty much shocked me. But enough of my blabbering and on with another entry of Burn that Baby!

* * *

Pain exploded in his body with such intensity that it was nearly crippling. Athrun hadn't the slightest clue where he had been shot, or if he had been shot at all for that matter. But when he was able to feel something, his body having gone completely numb from shock, a warm liquid-like sensation became present and it was then that Athrun realized that his father was no longer there to support him.

It's not like he ever did anyways.

Frozen at the thought of being shot by his own father was more than enough to stop him from running any further. Instead, Athrun crawled over to a metal trashcan and laid heavily against it and felt his body scream in protest when it began to slip away from him. He had the choice to fight back for all that he was worth, but Athrun would never sink as low as his father had. Never.

Propping himself up using his almost pain free arm, Athrun bowed his head and inspected the damage that had been done, disgusted at what a single bullet could do to one's skin.

It had been a clean shot, missing his elbow in a few short millimeters. The flesh had peeled back from the entry wound, blood dyed and resembling the color of white murky water. It hurt a lot and the blood had seeped out to the point where he would probably have to buy another coat. But he wasn't going back to the PLANTs, that much he was sure of.

Athrun knew he would be leaving his friends behind, disliking it completely, but he had no other choice than this. Kira and his family were fond enough of him to let him stay for a while until he decided on what to do. The way he saw it, he had only two options. Fight against both sides and hope for a good outcome or leave the city all together and never be heard of again.

Kira wasn't that easy to let go though. He had known the brown haired mobster since they were so young and their friendship was unbelievably strong, even now when all the fighting and violence threatened to tear them apart permanently. But if he were to stay, Athrun had the top most confidence that his friend would fight along side him to put an end to everything.

A loud noise rang through his panicked mind as someone neared at a fast pace. Athrun quickly snapped back into reality, emerald eyes huge with something along the lines of fear, but it was fear for his life and nothing else. He promised himself long ago that he would never be afraid of his father, no matter what the old man did to provoke such an awful feeling.

"Athrun! Come out Athrun, I didn't mean to, honestly."

When Patrick Zala was directly behind the continuously slipping trashcan, Athrun used all the strength he had left to push himself upwards, just enough to do a spin on his side and kick the metal garbage container outwards, striking the Don of the PLANTs in the shins.

Athrun heard him fall back, landing on the ground quite a ways away and stood up quickly, grasping his arm as pain quickly took hold of him once more. Now was definitely not the time to give into it, especially when his father was about to withdraw his gun again. So, with no other choices left, Athrun once again had to run away, hoping that he wouldn't be struck again by a bullet that came from his own father's gun. It was the person responsible for his pain that hurt the most.

"Athrun you little prick, get back here now!"

Several shots were fired, all of which bounced harmlessly off the sides of old apartment buildings and the meeting hall itself. Athrun was long gone by the time another round of bullets could be heard, so far that he was now in Orb territory.

At least here he felt safe.

Athrun quickly made for the house which so many good memories had taken place, but stopped abruptly upon remembering that Kira's house no longer existed. In fact, it had been his friends who had set the thing ablaze, though he had no idea how or who exactly did it. So where else could Kira have possibly gone?

He hadn't met much of Kira's other friends. It was latter on in life that Athrun knew his friend had met them, probably at an Orb school or something. But, unlike Kira's friends, the one's the blue haired mobster had back in the PLANTs attempted to murder Kira. If these people Athrun had never seen before were bad people, they probably would've gone after him already, so with this information alone Athrun suddenly wished everyone could be like these people; friendly and purposely trying to be oblivious to the fighting at hand.

Starting his search by asking people around him, Athrun headed towards a group of whispering teens, who were more than likely talking about him. He was a stranger after all, especially in the neighborhood of people who were supposed to be his 'enemies'. Everyone was probably really close; knew one another and where they lived, so Athrun tested that thought by walking up to a boy with glasses and sandy colored hair and a girl who clung obsessively to his arm, wearing obscure clothing and sporting hair that was stuck in between red and pink.

"Have you seen-"

"Who are you?" The girl snapped, who now had both her hands placed expertly onto her hips. She eyed him coldly and took a couple of steps backwards when she came upon the symbol stitched perfectly onto one of the breast pockets of Athrun's coat. "You're one of them aren't you? Get away from me!"

"Fllay...," the boy warned in a soft voice, looking backwards for a moment, then turned fully to face Athrun. His face was very warm and his expression full of understanding, but his mouth was formed as if to ask a question, but Athrun beat him to it.

"Have you seen Kira?"

The boy seemed to become dumbstruck for a moment, as if that was the last question in the world he thought a complete stranger would ask. When he finally managed to compose himself he fiddled with his glasses momentarily before questioning Athrun like he had originally intended.

"Are you from around here? And how do you know Kira?"

"Kira was... a friend of mine."

The boy then seemed to realize the growing red blotch on Athrun's arm and blinked several times. He thought quickly about everything, whether to trust this stranger or not, but if he didn't he knew Kira would be in a more depressed state than he already was. Plus, this guy didn't look all that harmful anyways.

"He lives with his friend Tolle now. Oh, and I'm Sai and this is Fllay," he motioned towards the girl who now stared at Athrun with nothing but hate in her eyes. "I could lead you there if you want."

"T-thanks."

Athrun was beginning to feel extremely dizzy and wondered if he'd have enough energy to make it to this Tolle's house.

He'd just have to wait and see.

* * *

Kira flipped mindlessly through an old magazine with torn and stained pages, all of which meant nothing to him and so he didn't even bother reading the small print. He was currently rested upon a borrowed bed, Tolle's to be exact, and was feeling particularly tired.

Just as his eyes were about to close for good and sleep began to work its way through him, a loud knocking on the dusty window beside the bed snapped Kira back into reality. He looked towards it and quickly withdrew the gun he had hidden under the bed, taking off the safety with practiced speed, then aiming it at the glass barrier as he advanced, eyes watching for any sign of an attack.

He bent down so that his knees were touching the hardwood floor underneath him and cautiously undid the lock that binded the window to a old, worn wooden frame, and raised his gun when a loud _creak _sounded painfully in his ears.

Before Kira had the chance to see if there was really anything at all outside the window, the glass barrier which served as a wall between his isolated world and that of outside was pushed open and somebody jumped inside.

Kira aimed his gun as the person slowly rose, clearly in a great amount of pain due to their body posture. However, as the brown haired mobster readied his finger on the trigger, the features of the person came into few as he staggered forward, surprising Kira completely.

Throwing his weapon off to the side, Kira rushed forwards as Athrun began to lean too far ahead and caught his friend just as bright emerald eyes closed and the blue haired mobster became surrounded into a world of darkness...


	15. Following the heart

Author note: Sorry for quite the break between this update and last chapter. Final exams got in the way, as did writing some of my other stories, but I did have this on my mind a lot lately. Enough of my gibberish, here's another chapter!

* * *

Warmth kissed his pale skin. He could barely feel it at first, nothing but a simple tingling feeling, then as he surfaced to the edge of consciousness Athrun had the luxury of feeling it. It had been too long. Too long since he had felt this way. Too long since he was warm and felt calm and at complete ease.

Something obviously wasn't right.

The ends of his hair tickled his left cheek, stirring a dancing sensation as his flesh became irritated. Then he felt something brush against his forehead. A palm perhaps. But who it was only created a blank spot in his weeping mind and heart. He cared not. He had nothing to care for anymore.

It hit Athrun then.

The events of the past few days, most of which he wished forgotten, flooded back to him. They were hurtful and sad and filled with anger and hate. But one stood out the most. And that was the memory of barely making it to Kira's house as pain threatened to cut his life short, though the injury wasn't all that bad. But his heart had been hurting and he had felt abandoned.

Cracking his eyes open so that they were only slits, Athrun got his first glance at life outside of the PLANTs house. A wave of calmness rushed over him, stronger than before, making it tempting to give into the quiet whisper of sleep. However, as Athrun tried to move, the river dried up and was replaced with pain. A great amount of pain.

He let out a groggy moan and felt the hand lift from his forehead. He immediately missed the warm feel of it and slowly turned his head to the side without much trouble, emerald eyes catching a glimpse of the person who held him gently.

Kira lay on his bed, sheets strewn about here and there in a messy fashion. Athrun was resting half awake, half asleep in his lap. He had felt the movement in his still body and had so many thoughts rushing through his head. But more importantly, he wanted to know what had happened to his long time friend.

Athrun stiffed a rare smile, one Kira hadn't seen since their childhood. He tried to raise himself, elbows digging into flesh, causing him to lay back down and apologize for hurting Kira. He was answered with a quiet "hush" before his brown haired friend began to stroke his hair, fingers dancing briefly on his scalp then pushing away. It made him feel giddy, even in a condition such as this.

"What the hell has happened to you Athrun?" Kira asked.

His voice was filled with such tragic sadness, something Athrun blamed on his father. He could see the worry just bouncing off his friend and wondered how much things Kira had gone through. They had to of been a thousand times worse than the things he himself had gone through, especially since his friend had a knack for being emotional. But he could also pick up on the emotions on others, and that caused a lot of bad feelings to corrupt his heart as well.

"I-" Athrun choked on his words, undecided if he should tell Kira or not. After all it would only cause him to feel more pain, but it was best just talking about it. "I-I... had a fight with my father..."

Athrun bowed his head, blue locks of hair covering his eyes. He hated his father for the things that he had done, but hate was such an emotion he wished to never feel. Hoping that sleep would take him back with open arms, Athrun closed his eyes but found a hand under his chin, gently pushing his face upwards.

He stared into the pure violet depths of Kira's eyes and felt himself freeze. He saw happiness in there, but mixed with it was an awful amount of sadness, something that was partly his fault. No it was all his fault. Everything. Kira's sadness would be there forever and it was because of everything that he did.

_Everything._

Kira on the other hand, was fighting his own inner battles. It was his fault that Athrun had been shot because he was his friend and certain opposed that and wanted him dead. What would he have done if Patrick Zala had aimed for Athrun's heart? He wouldn't know what to do. He'd be absolutely lost.

"Don't blame yourself," Kira spoke as he witnessed hidden emotions dance within deep emerald orbs. But he was blaming himself too and he knew that Athrun suspected that.

Athrun wanted to make everything better. To restore their broken friendship. To mend it no matter how long it took. But he felt there was something he was missing. And as he stared at Kira and Kira stared back, he felt their friendship healing and with it came something more.

Taking his friend by surprise, Athrun raised himself, ignoring the swelling pain in his arm, and brought his lips flesh against Kira's. He was afraid of his feelings, scared to death by them, but he was more concerned about rejection. He had faced it more than enough throughout his life, but he was caught off guard when Kira returned the simple kiss.

Hearts pounding and healing at the same time, Athrun and Kira slowly broke away, both becoming as red as tomatoes. Before anything else could happen, the door burst open, startling them, sending their hearts into a much more painful and faster pace.

"Quick!" Tolle yelled at the top of his lungs, then cut himself short upon seeing Athrun. It didn't help that both occupants of the room were blushing like crazy. "Come see the news! And let me tell ya, it ain't pretty."

"We'll be right there Tolle," Kira spoke up, then motioned to Athrun who was still resting in his lap. "This is my friend from a long time ago, Athrun."

Tolle gave a quick nod of recognition and left quickly. Kira slid carefully from under Athrun and helped his friend up, making sure that he didn't hurt him any further. It was then that the blue haired mobster realized that his arm was bandaged up and the blood had retreated.

Standing up in a tipsy fashion, Athrun struggled for balance but Kira straightened him out. Offering a quick thanks, the runaway locked Kira's lips with his own one more time, trying to prove to his heart that it wasn't wrong. A warm feeling erupted in his stomach, something he hadn't felt before and immediately knew it to be love.

And Kira was returning it.

They hesitantly broke apart, eyes staring into one another. Kira made for the door first, then ushered Athrun to follow, keeping a constant eye on him just in case his friend slipped. No, Kira couldn't call Athrun his friend anymore, he was more to him than that. He _loved_ him.

Once in the living room, Athrun and Kira came to stand in front of the television where Tolle had purposely turned the volume up for the entire world to hear. It was a news report, something small by the looks of it, but all that changed as scenes from the fight the other day were displayed.

"_The Mafia,_" a voice echoed in the background, "_has filled the streets with violence for centuries. But one man, a man who is apart of the dangerous lifestyle, has a solution."_ The pictures cut into live footage of an aging man up on a battered podium wearing an expensive suit and tie. His aging hair was jelled back professionally and he spoke with calm words flowing freely from his dried lips.

"I, Patrick Zala, Don of the PLANTs, have come to the conclusion that our world cannot be controlled with terrible violence and blood shed. And I _will_ put an end to this era of hate. There will be no poverty, no fighting over money, no more deaths by gunfire. And that I promise you."

"_Although the Don hasn't stated what his main objective is,_" the voice came back, some news reporter who was camera shy, "_he has promised a great deal of things which have yet to be carried out. Followers and supporters are growing and it looks like there may be a bright future after all for those in the world who are subjected to violence and poverty. And in other news..."_

Athrun and Kira were shock still, eyes never leaving the television. Although images were being shown and people speaking, they heard neither as their minds raced with fear.

What was Patrick Zala going to do this time?


	16. The start of things to come

Author note: Thanks to those of you wonderful people that have reviewed and have given me nothing but good compliments. Alas, my story draws to an end, in a few more chapters of course. I know exactly what I'm doing and how it'll end so I'll try super mega hard to lengthen the chapters, but don't quote me on that. Once again, thanks for the reviews and here is yet another installment for you to enjoy (hopefully).

* * *

Kira looked to the side and watched as Athrun refused to move his deep emerald eyes away from the television screen, even when it was shut off by Tolle. When he actually did, almost ten minutes later, Athrun covered his face with thick locks of blue hair.

Tolle could feel the tension growing in the room, causing him to feel uneasy. He briefly told Kira that he was going to leave and was answered by a single nod. He quickly left the house and went to go warn everyone important to him that something bad was going to happen. And he was absolutely right.

Not used to seeing such emotions coming from his friend, Kira led Athrun back to his makeshift room and closed the door quietly behind them. The whole time Athrun remained quiet, his eyes cast to the side and his mind seemingly lost in another world.

If he knew his father well enough, and he did, then Patrick Zala was up to something completely insane and cruel. He had seen past the calm mask that his father had worn when he was on the television and the way his eyes glistened at his new idea. The man had a thing for war and fighting, always trying to come up with a petty reason to start such violence. It made him sick to the stomach but he was still his father and that was what made it so hard to digest everything that had been announced.

He felt Kira press lightly down on his shoulders, then the soft fabric of blankets underneath himself. Athrun looked up, his eyes shimmering in the dull lighting of the room, as Kira gently brushed the hair away from his face and whisper comforting words. He shouldn't have to do such things.

"There's going to be a lot of fighting," Athrun spoke blandly, stating the obvious.

"I know..." Kira looked away for a moment, his eyes hardening at the thought of war and the danger all of his friends and family would be in because of it. "But are _you_ willing to fight?"

Athrun looked to the floor and traced the texture of the wood underneath his feet without thought. He had been thinking about the question he knew Kira was bound to ask, the one he _had_ asked, but his mind would not let him come to a decision. He wanted to fight alongside Kira, but he still had friends within the PLANTs, so what about them? Would he ever see them again? Would they be enemies now?

"Yes," Athrun answered, his tone straightforward and emotionless.

Kira was unused to his lack of emotions, but was glad nevertheless. He sat down on the bed beside Athrun and felt his friend place a hand on his shoulder. They met each other's eyes immediately, but the look in Athrun's was something Kira had never seen before.

"Kira, you shouldn't be involved with this. You have to stay here until it's all over and promise me you won't leave."

Athrun let his hand slip off his friend's shoulder as Kira's facial expression twisted into a state of shock and bewilderment. His eyebrows furrowed and then he became upset with the comment Athrun had just made. It was like blasphemy to him. He should have a right to fight in the war too.

"W-what?" Kira finally responded, his voice starting to shake before he gained complete control over it. "Athrun, you know I can't do that! I have to help out, I _have to!_"

"Kira... this... this doesn't involve you."

"You can't go out there by yourself! I won't let you."

"Please Kira, I-"

Tolle burst through the door again, his face distraught and his arms dangling lifelessly by his sides. He rushed over to Kira and Athrun, eyes hardening with each step he took.

"The PLANTs have declared war on us! They've already bombed a dozen factories and you should see what they did to the neighborhood by Miriallia's house!"

"When did this happen?" Kira asked his friend as Tolle grabbed both him and Athrun by the arms, forcing them out of the bed.

"I don't know, but I'm going to help everyone out."

"We're... We're going too."

Kira and Tolle looked towards Athrun, who had his eyes focused on Kira. He didn't want to sit around and do nothing and he knew Kira would be extremely upset if any of his friends were lost in the fighting. Plus, if Kira wasn't in his sight, he didn't know what he would do.

"Athrun?"

"I said we're going as well." He let a hidden emotion drift through his eyes for only Kira to see. "We have to."

Tolle smiled in appreciation, nodding his head before he left the room once again. There was the sound of the front door being closed as Kira's friend rushed to the aid of those in need, leaving Kira and Athrun to themselves yet again.

"I thought you-"

"I changed my mind," Athrun stated, looking around the room for any weapons, but found nothing. He returned to looking at Kira and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We're going to fight this through, _together_."

* * *

The streets were silent, calm, and dead empty. As the sun slowly abandoned the city where the Mafia ruled strongly, it took with it the warmth that many people needed to make it through another day. Another day filled with hatred, another day of fear, and another day of violence.

It was amazing what one influential man could do in the world of the gullible. How much change he could bring, how many different thoughts he brought forth, and how much hatred and lies he fed to those willing to listen and do what he commanded. It wasn't hard, he didn't even have to try at most times, all he needed to do was keep petty promises and spread fear through his people.

Fear the Mafia known as Orb. Hate them with all your will. Help exterminate them from the face of the earth so their disgusting ways of life and ideas won't spread like a disease. Make your life easier and destroy, destroy, destroy.

His hidden messages and false words of hope and peace worked quite well, and that was what got him here in the first place.

He was proud to say that his ideas where the reason for all the commotion and all the fighting. It meant that people believed in him, believed in his ideas and objectives. But there were those that opposed him, and for those certain people he had a _wonderful_ surprise.

It was time to announce it to his people.

The streets that had once been empty were now filled with people clad in formal attire, all headed for the house where the Don of the PLANTs resided. It was going to be a huge meeting, something that would change history, or so they were told.

Inside, Patrick Zala sat at the head of a long maple table that had been stained a deep red color to match the theme of the room. And that was also red. After all, he liked to think red represented them in some sort of way.

The table was lined with many chairs, most of which were filled already. There wasn't enough room for all those invited to the meeting, so anyone who was left without a seat leaned heavily against a smooth painted red wall, waiting to hear what their leader was going to say just like everyone else in the room.

In a far corner, Nicol watched as the place filled up with people. His father was among those seated at the table, and so was Yzak's mother and Dearka's father, and most importantly, Athrun's father. Nicol had been worried ever since Athrun was announced missing, that and nobody bothered to go look for him. Nicol himself had tried, but was stopped by Yzak who had strict orders to prepare for a long awaited fight between the PLANTs and Orb.

He never liked the whole concept of war, or fighting for that matter. He didn't like to see people killed on such a regular basis and he despised the hate that was draped over them like a heavy blanket. But Nicol, like many others, were promised the fighting would end starting tonight, so the young man was quite looking forward to see what was in store.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Patrick spoke up, his voice carrying across the room and silencing any small conversations that had bloomed. "It is time to talk about the future. The future of our children, the future of you, and the future of the PLANTs!"

A loud wave of cheering washed over the room as their respected Don rose from his seat and gave a light wave to silence everyone again. The clapping that had also sprung up quietened and people waited patiently for what was to come next, their eyes glistening with hope for a better tomorrow.

"People of the PLANTs, I present to you the key to our future!" A small curtain that had stood behind Patrick Zala dropped to the ground as people both gaped in awe and shuddered in fear. "This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Genesis."


	17. Farewell to the Mafia

Author note: Yes, this is, sadly, the last chapter of Burn that Baby. I couldn't decide if I should wait a couple chapters or not, but I think everything would turn out better if it all pieced together in here. It's been an awesome time, especially since this is a piece of work I normally wouldn't consider writing. However, before I end this last note, I'd like to thank _everyone_ who has reviewed. I received no negative response and was pelted with kind criticism, which is awesome. There was a point when the reviews were low and I thought that I had scared everyone away, but apparently not, which I also must thank those of you who stayed faithful to the story, no matter what happened. I will not hold you back anymore, so please read on. It was an awesome experience writing this!

* * *

"_Only a few hours ago, Patrick Zala, leader of the PLANTs, announced what his plan was for obtaining peace. Several people opposed his idea, which was to unleash the Genesis, an array of weapons connected to one. _

_Not much had been explained as to what the Genesis does, but people are taking shelter within their homes, waiting for an end to all the fighting. However, there are a great amount of people on Zala's side and many acts of violence have occurred due to arguments over what side is right and what side is wrong._

_It seems that Zala has caused more havoc than settle the fighting problem. Officials have not yet announced what their plan of action is and the local law enforcement has refused to take part in the events that have yet to occur. Stay tuned for more news."_

The same message had been played through radios, television sets, even spoken between other people as they waited in fear for what was going to happen. Though everyone was sure that those living in their part of the neighborhood had heard of Zala's plans, they were completely oblivious to the fact that over half didn't own a radio or a television. They were blind to the fighting.

Children were pulled off the streets by their worried parents in a panic, their games of jump rope and hopscotch forgotten in a world of dread. The streets became incredibly empty, silent as if everyone was holding their breath, waiting for something to break out.

It was mid afternoon in the city overrun with the Mafia. Not a door remained open, not a window cracked open for a warm breeze to drift through a silent house. Everything had a lock on it, or had been barricaded in a hurry. Every neighborhood, every apartment complex, every alley and every building were coated with silence, so strong that nobody dared to move.

Like a wild fire, fear spread into the hearts of those that made up the better part of Orb. The news of what their fate most likely would be was terrifying and nobody wished to get caught up in the fight Patrick Zala had secretively declared.

A little past five the heat of the day began to disappear. People were beginning to think that Zala was only speaking lies and life slowly came back in full swing. The children returned to the streets and their sweet laughter brightened the hearts of everyone.

It was then that the fighters of the PLANTs showed up.

* * *

The sound of heavy footsteps upon cold cement sidewalks and roads rang loudly throughout the area of Orb. Gunfire erupted every so often as people ran for cover, their screams of pain and protest against the fighting was like background music in the war zone.

Buildings stood ablaze, flames pouring out windows and the smell of burning wood lifting into the air. In the distance a small explosion could be hear, nothing close to the damage that the Genesis was going to cause.

Passing fallen body after body, Nicol had to fight back the bile that had risen in his throat. He cringed as a woman cried out in pain and couldn't help himself but look over, immediately turning to keep his eyes ahead when he caught sight of the woman's deceased child on the cold cement sidewalk.

The gun grasped tightly in his hands, a special issue AK-47, suddenly felt heavier than it should have been. Nicol cursed human kind for harboring such things as hate and weapons as he passed another burning building, the flames making the air thick and hard to breathe.

He couldn't take it anymore. He had lost his best friend, lost his will to continue fighting, and he felt like he was losing his sanity with every scream that ripped through the air. And his body had agreed with his mind, shutting down and forcing him to collapse on the ground.

"Get up Nicol!" Yzak barked from behind, having almost run right over the green haired boy. "You're going to hold us up if you just lay there, now hurry so we can get this over with."

Yzak and Dearka, who were both standing behind Nicol, pulled on him so that he was standing perfectly upright and began to run ahead, their guns drawn as they shot at people who they considered at threat to their main objective.

The Genesis.

On his back, Nicol carried a rather large bag, as did Dearka and Yzak. Yzak however, carried two instead of one. In the bags, as Nicol remembered, were a part of the Genesis and needed to be set in the exact location that they were given. The green haired boy hadn't been told exactly what they were for, neither had Yzak and Dearka, but they all knew that the heavy pieces of equipment in the bags could do a lot of damage.

Dearka slowed his pace and turned around, calling out to Nicol and telling him to hurry. The younger boy swallowed back the bile in his throat and stood back up, checking his bag to make sure that he hadn't ruined anything. He used the last of his strength to catch up and was glad when Yzak finally came to a stop, setting his bags down and immediately pulling out several tools that had been shoved inside of his pockets.

"Dearka, pass me your bag."

The blond took the heavy weight off his back, thankful that he would no longer have to run around with it latched onto him. Nicol did the same, sliding the bag off his back, and received a rather cold stare from Yzak, who had securely bolted one of the heavy pieces of equipment into the ground.

"What happened back there Nicol? You can't just do that out of nowhere. The Don is relying on us so we have to be quick, stay behind if you want to that badly."

Nicol remained silent, trying hard to block out all the horrible noises in the background. He closed his eyes momentarily and when he opened them, the green haired boy found himself in a different neighborhood, the last of the heavy equipment bolted into the ground.

"Come on," Dearka called back to him as Yzak began to take off, "We have to hurry and get back to the Don."

Nicol sighed heavily and followed close behind, his legs seemingly having a mind of their own. Though as he exited the area that belonged to Orb, he felt that he should at least stay back and help. But Yzak wouldn't approve so he was forced to follow.

* * *

Kira and Athrun were gathering up any means of a decent weapon, only managing to find handgun bullets. Ready to go and scared for each other, the two froze completely when the sound of ear-splitting gunfire tore through the silence that had sprung up like a plague.

"It's already begun," Athrun said, sighing heavily and placing his hand in his hair, thick locks of blue spilling between his fingers. "Father... what have you done now?"

Having his voice muffled, Kira was unable to understand what Athrun had just said, but he could sense the sadness in his words and could do nothing but place his hand on his shoulder. It seemed to do the trick as Athrun stood himself perfectly upright, his eyes shinning with determination.

Tolle came through the front door, followed by several people. Athrun recognized them from the other day when he was looking for Kira and gave a slight wave, trying not to be rude. The one called Fllay shot him a cold look, then turned her head the other way, refusing to make eye contact with him again.

"Tolle, make sure everyone stays here. Don't go outside and if anyone comes in," Kira took out a spare gun that he always had along with him, "Use this."

"Oh Kira," Fllay flung herself at the brown haired mobster, clinging to his arm. "What do the PLANTs want anyway? We've done nothing to them, please tell me everything will be alright."

Athrun watched the girl through the corner of his eye, feeling something akin to jealousy burning in him. However, Kira gently pried the girl off his arm and reassured her, quickly telling everyone to stay safe again.

"Come on Athrun."

Kira grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the door, a fully loaded handgun in his free hand. Once outside, the brown haired mobster let his grip on Athrun go as he stared off, his eyes catching onto the fighting before them within seconds.

"All my friends are here, all the ones I care about. They're in danger too, but Athrun, so are you. Please promise me you won't leave again, I've lost you before and I won't be able to stand it again and-"

Athrun pulled on Kira's arm, spinning him around and pulled him close. He rested his head upon Kira's and then broke away, but not before he managed to steal a gentle kiss.

"I promise." Athrun made sure his gun was loaded and looked in the same direction Kira had stared off into before. "But now it's time to finish this."

Nodding, Kira followed Athrun as they headed towards the house that the Don occupied.

* * *

The table which had been surrounded by people waiting to see what their leader planned was crowded with faithful members of the PLANTs. Behind Patrick Zala, who sat in a chair made from oak with snakes carved into the frame, stood Nicol, Yzak, and Dearka.

With their hands placed respectfully in front of them and their backs arched into perfect posture, they watched their leader and waited to see what was about to happen next. Everyone in the room was the same as them and it was getting harder and harder to remain patient, but at last the Don of the PLANTs spoke.

"It is time," he took a pause for effect, "I will now present to you the main idea of the Genesis. Be amazed by its power and what it is very well capable of doing."

In the middle of the table sat a small model. It was covered by a red cloth made from silk, multiple bumps visible where something heightened off of the model. With one flick of his hand, the cloth was pulled off, revealing to the people occupying the room a complex looking model.

"The Genesis is a series of weapons all connected to one. They are packed with the highest amount of power, more than enough to take out a mountainside." Patrick pointed to the middle of the model where a circular object was. "This is the main part of the Genesis. It sends out messages to these four objects." Using his finger he pointed to four almost circular objects, all of which Nicol new they had been sent out to place them in the exact location of which the Don wanted.

Nicol watched as he began to feel light headed, terrified for what was going to come out of the Don's mouth next. He felt guilty for taking part in setting up the Genesis, but he could not go back and alter what was in the past. It was too late for that.

"Once these messages are sent to the four, shall we call them, rings, using a new type of technology that sends signals from the ground, the rings will react. These rings," Patrick pointed to the almost circular objects again, "will be triggered, exploding them. It will surely rid us of those filthy people associated with Orb."

Everyone went silent.

Dead silent.

Hoping that everyone doubted their leader, Nicol let out a soft sigh, only to hear the loud roar of people clapping their hands and shouting out their agreements. It felt horrible, knowing that the people were idiotic enough to follow through with the Don's plan, but what was even worse was that Yzak and Dearka were clapping as well.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, let us begin the cleansing of a world that will soon belong to the PLANTs!"

Patrick Zala, Don of the PLANTs, and respected greatly, pressed a button close to his chair, causing a small platform to rise from the table. He looked over the buttons, until his aging eyes came across a red button with the letter "G" engraved into it. Pressing down on the trigger, Patrick Zala exploded the first of the four rings.

* * *

Athrun kicked down another door, memorizing the way to the meeting hall. Kira was close behind, his gun drawn and ready to face anything unexpected. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a large explosion could be heard and the two mobsters were thrown to the ground as a forcefield of energy rippled through the building.

A picture was knocked off of the nail it was hung on, crashing to the floor in front of Athrun. He opened his eyes that he had closed, fearing that something might get in them, and came upon a picture of himself and his father in a family photo, now torn and broken.

Kira threw himself to Athrun, checking for any wounds, but was batted off and assured that nothing had been injured. When they were up and walking again, they headed down a mess of hallways, constantly checking to see if their presence was hidden.

A big red door came into view and Athrun immediately stopped, grabbing Kira and pushing him gently against the wall. They went silent, the only thing ringing in their ears was the sound of their hearts beating at a rapid pace. Athrun slowly advanced, motioning for Kira to follow.

Voices could be heard, mostly cheering and congratulations. With his gun drawn, Athrun reached for the doorknob and slowly twisted it once his free hand felt cold metal underneath. He gave Kira one last look before barging in.

If the room had been silent before, it was even worse when an unexpected blue haired man came through the red door, a gun in his hand and his eyes shimmering with hatred.

"Father!" Athrun yelled, nearing the Patrick Zala with a scowl on his face. "What have you done father?"

Two men made to grab for Athrun, but were quickly felled by a single shot to each of their heads, thanks to Kira. The brown haired mobster walked closely behind Athrun as the people in the room began to panic and become angered.

Nicol's eyes widened like saucers at the sight of his old friend and found that he had to restrain himself from running at him. Yzak let out a angry grunt while Dearka chuckled to himself. But the person Nicol was worried about the most was Athrun, especially when his father stood angrily up from his chair and ran towards Athrun and the brown haired person behind him.

"You!" Patrick yelled, pointing towards Athrun as people quickly filed out of the room, which was left empty within seconds. "You have to wreck _everything_."

The Don went to hit Athrun, but Kira lunged at him with furious speed, latching onto his back and refusing to let go. Patrick made a grunting noise and effortlessly threw Kira off to the side, slamming him into the wall. The respected Don went after him instead, withdrawing a gun from his uniform and shoving it into Kira's face.

"And you! You're the reason why my son can't even function as a normal human being! You're the one who destroyed everything I had planned for the future! You little prick!"

Patrick grabbed Kira by the collar of his shirt and hoisted him upwards. By the time Kira was dangling inches from the ground, his back forced against the wall, he was fighting for air as well as trying hard not to notice the cold metal pressed painfully into his face.

"You're going to pay!"

The Don of the PLANTs loaded the gun and made to pull back on the trigger but froze. Kira was released from his death grip and fell painfully to the ground below. He watched, violet eyes taking in everything, as Athrun's father staggered backwards until he hit a chair, then fell down, a growing pool of crimson appearing over his heart.

"Athrun?"

Kira looked up at the blue haired mobster, meeting emerald eyes filled with tears. He stood up, his lungs thankful for air, and reached for Athrun. He pulled the torn apart man into his arms and closed his eyes, his heart singing out to his friend and jumping for joy that the fighting would be put to an end.

"I couldn't... I couldn't..."

"Everything is over Athrun, we can go back to living normally now."

Athrun raised his head, his faced wiped dry. He scanned the room and realized that everyone had left, even Nicol, Yzak, and Dearka, whom he had first spotted among everyone that had been in the room at the time of his arrival. However, he spotted something that he utterly detested.

Pulling away from Kira, Athrun took the metal box that had the buttons on it and smashed it over his knee, then grabbed the model and threw it across the room. His shoulders were heaving and he was short on breath, but Athrun ignored it, moving out of the room and gradually towards the outside world.

It was unusually bright out for the time of day, even the sun was still out. Athrun sighed heavily, letting go of everything that had been penned up inside. His mind was now clear and his heart healed more than he thought possible.

Kira came slowly out of the house, unsure if Athrun was alright or not. He tried to remain silent, but Athrun turned around, his emerald eyes meeting those of which Kira possessed. As he neared, the brown haired mobster was grabbed onto by Athrun and pulled into a deep kiss, which was only broken due to a lack of air.

Looking towards the area which had been demolished from the bomb, Athrun felt guilty that he hadn't made it in time to save the people. But things were going to change and everything would get better.

Placing a hand on Kira's shoulder as the sun began to finally set, Athrun couldn't help but smile.

Tomorrow was going to be the start of a whole new life.


End file.
